Increasingly, vegetables are being efficiently grown using soilless techniques such as hydroponics. Hydroponic systems are favored for their ability to improve water and nutrient use efficiency and crop yields, and have the added benefit of allowing growers to use fewer chemical fertilizers. Researchers in China and United Kingdom studied the effects of LED light combinations on lettuce grown in hydroponic systems to determine whether the treatments could reduce nitrate accumulation, and to find out what effect the treatments might have on phytochemical levels.

Projected penetration rate for small size OLED: As Samsung started to adopt OLED in all models of its own brand and the exportation to Chinese labels, the strategies has pushed the penetration rate to 20% in 2016. Samsung has reached full production capacity while other display manufacturers are unable to satisfy the specification of high-end mobile models, OLED’s penetration rate will only rise to approximately 25% from 2017 to 2018. As Taiwanese, Japanese and Chinese manufacturers all strive to catch up and the expansion of Samsung and LG Display, it’s expected that OLED could take over one third of the smartphone display market, providing that Apple didn’t enter the OLED market.   Large size OLEDs cannot pose threat to LEDs: The main obstacle of small size OLED lies in the demand of high pixels per inch (ppi) while in large size it’s limited by yield rate and price. Though LG Display strived to lower the price of OLED TV and adopted the same strategy in selling its display panels to other manufacturers, prices of OLED TVs that are twice higher than LED ones still saw slow progress. It’s projected that OLED TVs will only account for 0.5% in the TV market and rise to 5% as of 2020.

Elemental LED, a leading U.S. based engineering and technology company that manufactures LED lighting solutions announced today a partnership with CW Lighting that extends its Diode LED product brand into the surrounding region of Houston, TX. Elemental LED and its wholesale and manufacturing division, Diode LED, provides a wide variety of superior quality linear, task, and accent LED lighting solutions for both residential and commercial applications.

As darkness falls and Uluru is thrown into silhouette, field of light illuminates. As far as the eye can see gentle rhythms of colour light up the desert. The solar-powered installation will open on 1 April 2016, remaining open throughout the Red Centre’s distinct seasons until 31 March 2017.

During the Eurovision Song Contest in May, Osram will bathe the Swedish capital in bright colors that show what viewers think of the songs. The Munich-based lighting specialist will light up seven landmarks in Stockholm and countless living rooms around the world with the help of light control during the semifinals and finals of the song contest. The color of the lights will reflect each song's appeal to viewers.

Philips Lighting, a Royal Philips company and global leader in lighting, announced the launch of Philips CoralCare, its first dedicated LED luminaire to grow coral in aquariums. Following three years of research into the use of LED light to grow coral, the new Philips luminaire enables coral to grow with brilliantly, vivid colors. Also, it was proven that with similar power and light settings as traditional lighting, corals will grow at the same rate but while maintaining their natural appearance and health.

Cree, Inc. continues to set performance and efficiency records with the new 20,784 lumen CPY-20L™ LED canopy luminaire. Delivering a remarkable 143 LPW at 5700K, the newest Cree® CPY Series LED product offers even better light experiences and lower operating costs. The result is increased visibility and traffic to outperform existing LED and metal halide (MH) options as the ideal lighting solution for safer and more appealing petroleum stations.

Following the popularization of LEDs, most luminaires’ luminous efficacy has reached 100 lm/W, the resulting surge in C/P ratio has accelerated market penetration. As consumers become more educated about LEDs, light quality has become the most discussed topic on the market.   LED lighting’s new design concept will be increasingly focused on balancing luminous efficacy and light quality, resulting in better LED lighting efficacy and more comfortable lighting environments.

Over the last two weeks, two Taiwanese LED manufacturers Harvatek and Knightbright decided to settle patent disputes with Cree, ending a nearly two year lawsuit. Both Taiwanese vendors agreed to sign patent royalties for an undisclosed sum. Few details have been released about the conditions of the settlements. It is becoming clearly evident that Cree’s strategy is centered on cashing in from its LED patent portfolio, said a LEDinside analyst, who chose to remain anonymous.

Cree, a leader in LED lighting, announced today that it has reached a confidential settlement in its patent infringement lawsuit with Kingbright, Inc. Kingbright and Cree have agreed to a royalty bearing, worldwide license to the Cree patents-in-suit, thereby ending the lawsuit between the parties.

Scientists at the University of St Andrews have discovered that the lighting used in smartphone displays can activate live cells that are genetically programmed to respond to light.

In horticultural operations, LED lamps are becoming recognized as an important advance in artificial lighting. Among other benefits, LED lighting systems can offer durability, long operating lifetimes, and high energy efficiency. Researchers published a study in the March 2016 issue of HortScience that shows that continuous spectrum LEDs made specifically for horticultural can be superior to conventional white LEDs in terms of plant response and energy efficiency.

NEMA's Electroindustry Business Conditions Index (EBCI) continued its recent volatile behavior, dropping to a neutral 50 points in April after surging to 64.7 in March from 44.4 in February. Nineteen percent of panelists reported conditions improved in April, down from 41% in March. Another 19% reported the business environment worsened in April, up from 12% in March. The vast majority, though, claimed conditions were unchanged in April, up from the 47% who held this view a month ago.

Fluence Bioengineering, a photobiology design and manufacturing company, has developed an indoor and greenhouse lighting system with an efficacy above 2.0 micromoles per joule (µmol/J) according to replicate, collaborative testing conducted by Rutgers University and Utah State University. The testing found that the VYPRx PLUS had a 21 percent and 58 percent greater efficacy than the leading 1000-watt double-ended and single-ended high pressure sodium (HPS) fixtures respectively, and better than any of the LED technologies studied in an economic analysis of greenhouse lighting paper by Nelson and Bugbee1.

The Customer Managed by Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, the Ayazağa and Beylerbeyi tunnels are two of the main arteial routes of the European, and the Asian sides of the city, and some of the busiest roadways in the region. With responsibility for maintaining public infrastructure in a safe and efficient manner, the municipality was keen to reduce energy costs, while simultaneously improving the overall illumination within the tunnels.

Introducing the Verbatim EVO Series – the next leap forward in MR16 LED lamp performance. The Verbatim EVO series provides the halogen-like quality you know and love with the efficiency and longevity of LED that your customers demand. Never before has this unique combination of power, color quality and application flexibility been available in an MR16 LED form factor.

Concurrent with SID Display Week 2016, which takes place in San Francisco, California, USA, May 22-27, 2016, Instrument Systems, Radiant Vision Systems and Konica Minolta Sensing Americas will co-host a free educational seminar on display measurement technology.

Changxin, a guest writer for LEDinside highlights several market trends ahead of the upcoming Guangzhou International Lighting Fair, including a thorough analysis of why the industry has escaped being sucked into the vicious cycle of low price wars this year.

Indian LED manufacturer Syska launched a colorful smart LED bulb in the local market at a price of INR 1,999 (US $30.96), reported Techradar.

The Fraunhofer Institute for Organic Electronics, Electron Beam and Plasma Technology FEP will be presenting flexible organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) at AIMCAL 2016 in Dresden, Germany, from May 30th to June 2nd, 2016. These OLEDs have been fabricated on ultra-thin glass and encapsulated with a ultra-thin glass foil in the same process.

The Sohar Port and Freezone located in Middle East nation Oman, announced that it will be installing LED streetlight systems within premises of the port and freezone, reported Times of Oman.

Chico, a city in California, U.S. will be replacing its streetlights with more efficient LED lights in the next four to six weeks, reported The Orion.

EVERLIGHT ELECTRONICS, a leading player in the global LED and optoelectronics industry, introduces a new reflector type photo interruptor. The ITR1502 series can sense an object and give signal response at an exceptionally long distance of 4 mm at a speed of 20 μs, in contrast to a usual distance of 0.5 to 1.0mm. Add to that, EVERLIGHT's cost-effective new ITR1502 has passed MSL3 for moisture sensitive SMD components. Popular ITR applications are paper feed and edge detection in printers as well as motor revolution detection in projectors and other non-contact sensing applications. Other possible fields of use include factory and industrial automation.

Jasco Products, leader in LED lighting, home automation and electrical products, presents Enbrighten® Café Lights, a modern twist to classic outdoor string lighting featuring unparalleled lifetime LED technology. Great for indoors or out, transform any space with the warm glow of Enbrighten Café String Lights. Add ambiance to the patio or style inside your home for the perfect atmosphere that will have people feeling welcomed and relaxed.

GlacialTech, the diversified LED technology provider, will showcase its latest LED lighting products and solutions at the 21st Guangzhou International Lighting Exhibition. From June 9th to 12th, visitors can come see new, energy efficient GlacialLight LED lights, cold-forged GlacialTech LED Heatsinks, and high power factor GlacialPower LED Drivers. GlacialTech invites all interested parties to visit its booth at Hall 11.2 #B04 in the China Import and Export Fair Complex, Guangzhou China.

Started from last week, New York’s night skies were lit by up to 2,000 pigeons flew with LEDs strapped to their legs. The performance held in Brooklyn Navy Yard, named “Fly by Night”, was launched by artist Duke Riley. The massive flock followed the artist’s whistle, circled in the sky for 30 minutes over the deck of a decommissioned U.S. Navy ship.

Swedbank’s new international headquarters by architectural firm 3XN is an innovative interpretation if the core values of the organisation: openness, simplicity and care. These have been translated into a modern architectural space with an emphasis on transparency and the creation of a good social environment. Stretching across an entire block, the building takes the form of a triple V structure – a design concept intended to both break up the volume and make it easier to connect both people and spaces. The largely transparent facades bring in plenty of daylight, highlighting the spectacular semi-public atrium spaces.  Natural wayfinding is another key part of the design, with two spiral staircases providing key orientation points.  Social spaces are placed around a central axis facilitating interaction and good internal communication for employees.

It has been confirmed that Philips Lighting will be issuing an IPO instead of being put up for sale, Philips will gradually sell more than 25% of its stake in the lighting business. Additionally, the company’s IPO announcement will disappoint several investors, such as Go Scale Capital, Melrose, and Apollo to name a few that had previously been interested in submitting bidding proposals. The company’s lighting arm in Thailand has also decided to shut down its fluorescent bulb factory as market penetration of LEDs escalate in the local market to more than 34%.

India’s national LED program Unnat Jyoti by Affordable LEDs for All (UJALA), will be implemented nationwide by 2019, said the country’s Minister for Power and Coal, Piyush Goyal recently.

MLS released its 1Q16 earnings last week, reporting the company’s revenue of 9.15% year on year (YoY) growth at RMB 819 million (US $125.8 million).