Inspired by William Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet, the American Broadway musical West Side story has been successful ever since its production start in the 50s.

As we approach the darkest time of year in the UK, Vauxhall’s Brit-built Astra with IntelliLux LED Matrix headlights with adaptive, glare-free permanent high-beam lamps, could reduce your risk of an accident this winter.

Excelitas Technologies® Corp. today announced the availability of X-Cite® TURBO, a new multi-wavelength LED fluorescence illuminator for microscopy imaging and detection applications. Featuring Excelitas Technologies’ patent-pending LaserLED Hybrid DriveTM, X-Cite TURBO provides maximum excitation power for all standard color wavelengths, including the ever-popular yellow excitation band.

GreenPeak Technologies, the world leading low power RF semiconductor company for Smart Home and IoT applications, has launched its wireless LED Lighting solution, a low-cost ambient lighting application based on the new GreenPeak GP651 communication chip that can support various ZigBee and IEEE 802.15.4 communication protocols.

Nationstar announced it signed two separate procurement agreements with ASM Microelectronics Technical Services (Shanghai) (ASM Microelectronics) and ASM Pacific (Hong Kong Limited).

Rosen Law Firm, a global investor right law firm, announced recently it is investigating potential securities claims on behalf of shareholders of Aixtron resulting from allegations that Aixtron might have issued materially misleading business information to the investing public.

The Zhaga Consortium has published a new specification for LED drivers that are used in combination with separate LED modules. The introduction of standardized form-factors for LED drivers is expected to bring significant benefits for LED luminaire makers, including enhanced second-sourcing options and the ability to interchange different LED modules and drivers independently.

Sensor Electronic Technology (SETi) has announced that it has acquired the commercial operations of UV LED developer and manufacturer, Nitek, strengthening its position as global leaders in the UV LED marketplace.

Philips announced it will be closing down its lighting plant in Burgaw, Pender County in North Carolina, U.S. recently, according to a report byTriangle Business Journal.

Sengled, a global innovator bringing bright new ideas to the lighting industry, announced its newest smart bulb product: the Element Touch. Element Touch is an LED bulb that can be controlled by the customer at the touch of a button, as well as wirelessly through an app or home controller. It recently became one of the connected home devices certified by Icontrol Networks, and certified as Works with SmartThings™, meaning Element Touch can interact with other devices in the Icontrol and SmartThings ecosystems. 

Revolution Lighting Technologies, a leader in advanced LED lighting technology solutions, today announced that its distributor Brightness LLC has provided more than 3,500 RVLT LED Thin Panel and Vapor Tight fixtures for installation at Galeno Group's newest medical facility, Trinidad Ramos Mejia Hospital, located in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Clay Paky's lights were the big stars of the Circle of Light Festival. The distinguishing feature that determines the success of this major international event, which is held annually in Moscow, is visual technology (video and lights) applied to the metropolitan context. In 2014, the event drew no less than six million people!

Earlier this fall, the world was introduced to the first Lewes Light Festival, a celebration of the first Festival of Light in the strong, creative community of Lewes, East Sussex, England. The small town and it’s beautiful, historical architecture were brilliantly transformed into a vibrant, bright beacon extending across the town’s landscape. This event welcomed and inspired visitors from around the world through the use of art, design, technology, and the environment.

MLS and Epistar share their outlook for 2016 and their current market strategies with LEDinside in recent interviews. The influence of COP21 meeting in Paris, France has raised governments and manufacturers awareness onto certain issues. Seoul Viosys announces its UV LEDs are close to 100% capable of eliminating hepatitis C virus.

Certain LED manufacturers have turned their attention to niche lighting market applications in the wake of declining LED profits, but MLS is ambitiously vying the IC semiconductor industry and emerging markets to boost its profitability in the future.

On December 10th, SEOUL VIOSYS (President Jaejo Kim,www.seoulviosys.com ), a global leading company in UV LED solutions, announced that they provided the Violeds, a space station cleaning technology, to Professor Soon-Bong Hwang, Korea’s leading expert in Hepatitis C research, and his research team (National Research Laboratory for Hepatitis C virus (NRL)) at Ilsong Institute of Life Sciences of Hallym University and the research team found that 99.9% of Hepatitis C virus was eliminated after a 5 minute-long exposure to the UV LED package with the application of the Violeds technology from the results of experiments that measured the effect of sterilization of Hepatitis C virus.

A research team headed by Ivy Hsu, Professor at Department of Bioscience Technology of Chung Yuan Christian University is betting on using LEDs to replace expensive laser lights in cancer surgery, reported CTimes.

Covestro will be among the 80 most important listed companies in Germany. Roughly two months after its flotation, the materials manufacturer will be included in the MDAX stock market index as of December 21made the announcement last Thursday evening.

With the help of light-emitting diodes as small as neurons, University of Michigan researchers are unlocking the secrets of neural pathways in the brain.

The new Oslux SFH 4786S infrared LED (IRED) from Osram Opto Semiconductors enables iris recognition systems to be made less complex and with lower profiles. At 1.6 millimeters (mm) high, this new IRED is around one-third thinner than its predecessor. Its direction of emission is slightly angled so there is no need for the usual mechanical aids to ensure correct geometrical alignment.

Light and electricity dance a complicated tango in devices like LEDs, solar cells and sensors. A new anti-reflection coating developed by engineers at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, in collaboration with researchers at the University of Massachusetts at Lowell, lets light through without hampering the flow of electricity, a step that could increase efficiency in such devices.

Royal Philips, the global leader in lighting, together with Xiaomi, an internet-driven smartphone company, launches Philips EyeCare connected desk lamp - designed to deliver optimal eye comfort as you read or work¹. By collecting ‘light signals’ through the Xiaomi smartphone, Philips EyeCare connected desk lamp is able to automatically adjust the high quality connected light from Philips, ensuring your eyes have the right light for the task at hand.

Xicato, a leading manufacturer of intelligent light sources, has seen continued growth of over 35% annually, which has led to the expansion of its management team and increase of leadership in North America. The company is pleased to announce the promotion of several people on its leadership team: Willem Sillevis Smitt to Vice President of Sales and Marketing Worldwide, Peter Tseng to Vice President of Engineering, and Mike Peanasky to Vice President of Manufacturing.

Royal Philips, the global leader in lighting, has launched Luminous Patterns, a programmable connected LED lighting system that can help architects and designers create a striking visual statement using a unique combination of light, patterns and materials. Philips Luminous Patterns are decorative panels, which consume little energy,  are cost-effective and suited to a wide range of interiors, including bars, restaurants, retail stores, hotels and office lobbies.

The TIGNUM table lamp represents an elegant addition to any officeenvironment. The appearance of the product is dominated by the clean, straight lines of a housing that seems to float centrally over a desk that is carefully illuminated with efficient and glare-free neutral white LED light. The sketches of Graz-based designers  Benjamin und Markus Pernthaler were immediately characterised by rigid lines and an extremely flat design, thanks in no small part to the inclusion of an external mains adapter. The blend of purist design and powder-coated aluminium profile conveys a clear feeling of quality. Both the luminous efficiency of 85 lm/W and the superior functionality of TIGNUM push the established boundaries, whilst the sleek haptic rotary control adds intuitive handling and the option of stepless dimming. The adjustable lighting element, measuring 107 centimetres in length, can also be slid horizontally to achieve the optimum positioning for every workplace.

In an exclusive interview with LEDinside, MLS General Manager Lawrence Lin discussed in-depth the company’s ongoing talks with German LED company Osram to acquire its lighting business at Taipei Building Show organized by Dollar International Industry earlier today.

Havells India, a manufacturer of lighting and electrical products, plans to sell most of its stake in European lighting system and fixtures company Sylvania. Sylvania is one of the four leading lighting brands in Europe and Latin America.

European company Carbodeon has been granted a US patent for its technology which enables detonation-synthesised diamond particles (nanodiamonds) to be combined with polymers for use in fields such as personal electronics, LED lighting, automotive and machine tools.

Philips, the global leader in lighting and Cisco, the worldwide leader in IT, today announce a global strategic alliance that will create new value in energy savings, building efficiency and employee productivity, made possible by the Internet of Things (IoT) in modern offices. This alliance brings together Philips’ LED based connected lighting system with Cisco’s IT network to address a global office market estimated to be worth EUR 1 billion¹.

"LED lighting solutions save power and therefore reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and they're not only environmentally-friendly but also economic. In most situations, costs for upgrading to LED lighting are paid back rapidly due to lower electricity costs," stated Dr. Eladia Pulido, CEO of the Osram Lighting Solutions business unit. Dr. Pulido took part in the podium discussion concerning "Energy Efficiency – The Game Changer" during the UN climate conference COP21 in Paris. Christophe Richon, Strategic Marketing Osram Lighting Solutions, also held a talk as part of the accompanying technical forum of the ADEME (French agency for environment and energy management) about "LED Streetlighting Solutions – An easy Switch for Cities".