About two years ago, LED manufacturers that turned up at LED Forum 2013 were skeptical about smart lighting taking off anytime soon. Many industry insiders projected it would be a niche market that would take another two years before fully blossoming, while others believed at the time only gadget lovers would warm up to the products. Their predictions have been fairly accurate so far.

Authorities in Zhejiang Province, China reported seizing nearly 8,000 counterfeited Opple LED tubes valuing RMB 176,760 (US $28,483.03), reported Nanhu Evening News.  

NXP Semiconductors announced a partnership with Xiaomi, a global leader in wireless connectivity and security solutions. The agreement will see NXP provide its latest innovative low power wireless connectivity solution for the new Xiaomi Smart Home Suite.

Osram Opto has released new green LED products specifically designed for heart monitoring. The green LEDs for heart rate monitoring are probably similar to the ones used in Apple Watch for heart rate tracking. The mechanism used to measure heart rate is similar, in which it relies on measuring light absorbed by blood vessels and surrounding tissues. For further details about the new green LEDs please see Osram Opto’s full press release below:

Royal Philips (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHIA) announced that today’s Annual General Meeting of Shareholders (AGM) has approved the separation of the Lighting business from Royal Philips. Following the vote in Amsterdam, Royal Philips will continue the process to set up two market-leading independent companies that will focus on the vast opportunities in health technology and lighting solutions.

Rubicon Technology, a leading provider of sapphire substrates and products to the LED, semiconductor, and optical industries, today reported financial results for its first quarter ended March 31, 2015.

Universal Display Corporation, enabling energy-efficient displays and lighting with its UniversalPHOLED® technology and materials, reported financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2015.

Pixelligent Technologies announced that it has been selected for a Phase II Solid State Lighting award from the US Department of Energy to support the development of advanced light-extraction materials for OLED Lighting. Pixelligent has partnered with OLEDWorks for this grant, which follows work on a Phase I award from September 2014.

On April 30, 2015, Lunera Lighting issued a press release claiming to have filed a lawsuit naming seven defendants, including MaxLite, Inc., SATCO Products, Inc. and Topaz Lighting Corporation. Based on available information, the lawsuit appears baseless. MaxLite, SATCO and Topaz are aware of allegations made by Lunera directly to the industry, including allegations that a ballast-compatible plug-in LED lamp product is not in compliance with UL. The referenced LED lamp product is UL listed. All allegations to the contrary are completely without support. The three companies believe these allegations to be without merit and intend to disprove them. 

Litecool (//www.litecool.co.uk), a innovator in LED packaging and thermal performance, announced today that it has filed a patent on a PCB-free LED package known as Lumen Block™. This new technology enables the assembly of LED arrays with no circuit board putting the LED package directly on the heat sink for ultimate thermal performance and cost reduction.

OSRAM SYLVANIA is demonstrating the company’s innovation in delivering personalized light with OSRAM OmniPoint™, a wireless, array-based LED lighting solution that offers extremely flexible light placement and intensity options. The luminaire consists of an array of independently controllable LEDs that can switch on/off and dim in coordination with the others in any combination, and produce ambient and spot lighting from a single light package at the same time. 

Bridgelux, a leading developer and manufacturer of LED lighting technologies, debuted the first of its integrated smart module suite of products today at the 2015 Light Fair International Conference in New York. Bridgelux’s Xenio product is compatible with a greater variety of standards, protocols and other technologies to ensure ease of integration, greater value and future functionality. 

Royal Philips, the global leader in lighting, today announced it would be working with the New York State Thruway Authority and Tappan Zee Constructors, LLC to install a state-of-the-art connected LED lighting system on the New NY Bridge to replace the Tappan Zee across the Hudson River. The innovative system will combine both the roadway and architectural lighting, an industry first.  As the most technologically advanced bridge in North America, the New NY Bridge will have the capacity to be transformed into a massive canvas with remotely programmed, tunable lights that produce dynamic or subtle, colorful effects which can reflect special occasions such as holidays or local sports team wins.

To make bikers more visible on streets during night time, two Canadian designers have come up with a creative LED rear bike light design that literally requires bikers with “some balls” to mount on a bike seat.

Ledman Opto will be building on its LED package, display, lighting and energy saving service foundation to expand its operations in soccer and other sports applications, said the company’s Chairman Mantie Li at a 2014 financial result briefing.

Edison Opto and Epistar have jointly won a 10 million LED bulb Indian government contract valuing NT $300 million (US $9.77 million), according to an UDN report.

In two separate company statements released yesterday, Epistar board approved fully integrating TSMC Solid State Lighting (元芯光电), and non-public issuance of 165 million company shares to raise capital.

Veeco Instruments announced its financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2015. Results are reported in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) and are also reported adjusting for certain items (“Non-GAAP”). A reconciliation between GAAP and Non-GAAP operating results is provided at the end of this press release.

With the current lumen boost of many tier 1 LED manufacturers, the demand raised exponentially for ultra-low profile LED coolers for use in height restricted down light applications.

Luminus, a global manufacturer of high-performance LEDs , announced today a new family of ultra high density chip on board (COB) arrays designed to replace ceramic metal halide technology commonly used in spot lights for retail lighting.  The new "XH" series COBs are available in a variety of standard light emitting surface (LES) diameters including 6, 9, 11, and 14mm, which means that customers can use their existing ecosystems for optics and connectors, while producing new bulbs and fixtures with higher lumen output and increased center beam candle power(CBCP).  

In today’s busy world, it’s easy to forget. People forget to turn off the lights at night, unplug the curling iron or even shut the garage door when leaving for vacation. But, instead of worrying about what we may have overlooked at home, wouldn’t it be nice if our homes remembered for us? With the NuTone® Smart Home Series, integrated home automation and management, whether from the living room couch or across the globe, is now just a click away.

On Booth 983 at LIGHTFAIR International (LFI 2015), LED Engin, Inc. extends its LuxiTune™ LED product family by integrating ZigBee connectivity. LZ9 LuxiTune is the first CCT tunable and warm dimmable source enabling independent color and brightness control offered for compact track light heads.

LED lighting is experiencing increased adoption in many residential and commercial applications, and customers are demanding more energy-efficient options without sacrificing design. To meet these needs, Bayer MaterialScience LLC offers a portfolio of polycarbonate resin, sheet and film materials for LED lighting applications that satisfy a variety of design and performance requirements.

LEDtronics announces its latest series of DLC, ETL-listed LED Canopy Lights with a choice of flat or prismatic drop lens for both indoor and outdoor applications. With energy savings of up to 75 percent, the wide-beam lamps come in two wattages: 49W for replacing up to 250W old-technology HID, or 89W for replacing up to 400W HID.

Genesis Photonics Inc. (GPI) second largest investor, Chicony, has acquired a 7% stake worth NT $350 million (US $11.14 million) of Everlight bonds, reported China Times.

Many types of laser diodes (LDs) were displayed at OPIE’15, which took place last month in Yokohama, Japan. LD can be classified into gas laser, YAG lasers, semiconductor lasers, quantum cascade lasers and others.

According to a new market report published by Transparency Market Research “Smart Lighting Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast, 2014 - 2020,” global smart lightning market was valued at US$  21 billion in 2013, growing at a CAGR of 15.9% from 2014 to 2020 to account for US$  56.62 billion in 2020.

Winners in the Indoor and Outdoor categories of the seventh annual Next Generation LuminairesTM Design Competition were announced today at LIGHTFAIR® International in New York. Sponsored by DOE, the Illuminating Engineering Society, and the International Association of Lighting Designers, NGL promotes excellence in the design of energy-efficient LED products for commercial lighting applications.

WeMo®, the Internet of Things brand from Belkin International, and Cree, the leader in LED lighting, today announced a strategic relationship to integrate Cree® LED lighting solutions with the WeMo ecosystem. Under the agreement, the first WeMo-compatible Cree bulb will be the Connected Cree® LED Bulb, with a potential to expand to other offerings in the future. 

GE gathered industry thought leaders and influencers from Qualcomm, City of San Diego, City of Jacksonville to share insights on how intelligent LED lighting is transforming cities, buildings and homes. The marriage of lighting and big data provides new ways to drive unprecedented efficiency, utility and experiences that will change the way we navigate our hometown, the way we shop at the grocery store and the way we live everyday life.