Cost effective communication solutions are important for long range smart streetlight applications to make it acceptable to potential clients, said Gary Tsai, R&D Director, Institute for Information Industry (III) at LEDforum 2014 last Friday at Taipei, Taiwan.

Main players behind OLED TV, Samsung and LG might be giving up the costly technology in favor of more cost affordable quantum dot technology, according to a Reuters report.

The LED packaging industry’s value is anticipated to only rise an estimated 3.2% on-year in 2015, from this year's US$14.6 billion to US$15 billion, according to the latest “Global LED package Industry Report” released by LEDinside, a division of Taiwan based market intelligence firm TrendForce. “With growth in the LED package market slowing and competitive pressure coming from China, the LED industry will face some major challenges next year,” said Roger Chu, research director at LEDinside. 

“The successful execution of our Accelerate! program continues to improve operational performance in most of our businesses. We are very excited by the vast opportunities in the HealthTech and Lighting solutions markets that we will capitalize on with the creation of two dedicated market-leading companies.

The next generation ultra-fast Internet or ground-breaking electronic circuits powered by light instead of electricity could very well be built on research done at Nanyang Technological University (NTU).

Digital Lumens, the leader in intelligent LED lighting, announced US $23 million in funding from new investors Nokia Growth Partners, Aster Capital, and Goldman Sachs, and current investors, Flybridge Capital Partners, Black Coral Capital, and Stata Ventures. Funds will be used to scale operations, expand product development, and increase sales and marketing as the company rapidly bolsters its global footprint.

Lighting is an essential and important part of the automotive shopping experience, but also one of its greatest expenses, accounting for more than 45% of a dealership’s energy costs. Hubbell Lighting, a world leader in lighting innovation, announced today that two of its brands, Spaulding Lighting and Beacon Products, have introduced new optical packages specifically designed for dealerships.

Acuity Brands, Inc. (NYSE:AYI) introduces the new ENERGY STAR® certified E Series LED recessed modules from Lithonia Lighting® – offering exceptional performance and energy-saving benefits at an attractive price point. The module is well-suited for high-volume construction, cost competitive bids and everyday stock business. Additionally, it is ideal for both new or retrofit projects in residential and light commercial applications.

Shoppers who get ready for their annual trip to buy light bulbs due to the end of daylight saving time may be in for a surprise this year as traditional incandescent light bulbs begin to disappear. To help its customers through this transition, Meijer has partnered with GE Lighting, America's most trusted lighting brand, to create a new shopping experience to help its shoppers navigate the many options as they prepare for the longer winter nights.

The Sistine Chapel in Rome is now illuminated by a novel lighting solution from Osram. After 500 years, this extraordinary piece of art history can now be experienced in unprecedented quality, bathed in the light of more than 7,000 LEDs. The installation that has been put in place over the last few months is designed to protect the artworks while enabling much stronger lighting. At the same time, it will use up to 90 percent less electricity than the previous installation. The European Union supported the project.

Royal Philips, the global leader in lighting, and Lexus, a premium automotive brand, unveiled the first Lexus car showroom in Russia outfitted with a unique and connected ambient lighting system that combines LEDs with textile and  dynamic content. The Lexus-Rublevskiy showroom in Moscow has been renovated for the Russian premiere of the Toyota Lexus NX, with Philips luminous textiles creating a dynamic halo of light around the car to attract the attention of customers. By the end of 2014, Philips luminous textiles will be installed in all 45 of Lexus’ showrooms across Russia.

In our everyday lives, we encounter outdoor displays in a variety of different forms. Osram Opto Semiconductors is now launching the first LED with oval light-radiating characteristics for large-screen video walls or digital road signs: the new surface-mountable Displix Oval. Thanks to a compact housing measuring just 2.1 x 2.7 x 1.5 mm, almost twice as many LEDs can now be mounted on a board than with ordinary radial diodes, doubling both the pixel density and the resolution of displays. As a result, the images displayed are extremely vivid with a high color homogeneity.

ProPhotonix Limited, a designer and manufacturer of LED illumination systems and laser diode modules with operations in Ireland and the United Kingdom, announced a new highly uniform line light for long working distance machine vision applications at Vision 2014, Stuttgart, Germany.

We are currently in the midst of a lighting revolution comparable to the days of Edison. SSL technology is evolving at a blistering pace, and innovative new products and features continue to broaden the appeal and energy-saving impact of SSL. (Click here for the event agenda).

Many consumers are still waiting in line to receive their iPhone 6, hardly a month has gone by since the smartphone’s launch, but market rumors about its successor are already being leaked by a British Christian news website.

Price competitions are affecting almost every aspect of the LED industry, and are observed in manufacturers chip technology developments, such as the emergence of Chip Scale Package (CSP) LEDs.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) announced a funding opportunity on October 27, 2014, for the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs. Topics for this funding opportunity include solid-state lighting. Qualified small businesses with strong research capabilities in science or engineering in any of the research areas sought in the announcement are encouraged to apply.

Veeco Instruments Inc. (Nasdaq:VECO) announced its financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2014. Veeco reports its results on a U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) basis, and also provides results excluding certain items. Refer to the attached table for details of the reconciliation between GAAP operating results and Non-GAAP operating results.

Continuing with its focus on providing the best of innovation and technology, India's leading electrical solutions provider - Anchor Electricals Pvt. Ltd (A Panasonic Group Company), today inaugurated its second LED lighting experience centre in Bangalore, after Mumbai.

A stunning video shot by Sweetgrass productions sponsored by Philips has transformed the snowy Alaskan mountain slopes in U.S. and snowy hills of British Columbia, Canada into a dreamily illuminating landscape, according to a Wired report.

At a mere 5/8” thickness, the SlimSurface LED Downlight from PHILIPS LIGHTOLIER sets the bar pretty high for others trying to enter the surface mount downlight arena. This luminaire is characterized by a completely flat lens with a very narrow flange and offers the appearance of a recessed downlight but it is actually surface mounted. Now, this is a game changer.

Pemco Holdings, LLC (Pemco), a leading investor and developer of energy efficiency projects, in partnership with Midcoast Regional Redevelopment Authority (MRRA), today announced the completion of the Brunswick Landing LED Street Lighting Improvement Project at the former Naval Air Station in Brunswick, Maine, U.S. The project, which pioneered the use of dimming controls on public street lighting in the U.S., includes the upgrade of 650 street and area lights with new LED fixtures and radio frequency-enabled control and monitoring systems.

When meeting with commercial and hospitality property managers, a common theme is that landscape lighting used to illuminate areas like signs, monuments, and trees are frequently broken by vandalism or daily wear and tear from rocks, branches and even weed wackers. When the glass lens breaks, this allows moisture to break the lamp as well as damage or destroy internal components. Because of this, the fixtures often need to be replaced. 

Cornell University announced today that Ephesus Lighting, installer of high-output LED lighting at sports and entertainment venues, has been selected to install its system at 12 indoor facilities, including 10 sports venues, at the school’s Ithaca, NY campus. The announcement was made by W.S. (Lanny) Joyce P.E., Director of Utilities and Energy Management and Campus Energy Manager Mark Howe P.E., of Cornell University and Mike Lorenz, President of Ephesus Lighting.

The role of phosphor powder in LED applications is increasingly important to lower LED production costs and meet higher light quality demands, said Calvin Yeh, Global Strategic Marketing Manager, Lighting/PV Business Field, Merck Display Technologies, at LEDforum 2014 hosted by LEDinside on Oct. 24, 2014 in Taipei, Taiwan.

AIXTRON, a leading provider of deposition equipment to the semiconductor industry, today announced financial results for the third quarter 2014 and first nine months of 2014.

Cree introduces the New Cree® LED Bulb, delivering superior light performance while looking just like an incandescent light bulb at an even more affordable price. Featuring a new innovative design, the New Cree LED Bulb provides the same cost savings and 25,000-hour lifetime that made the original Cree LED Bulb America’s best-selling LED bulb. Available as 40- and 60-watt replacements, the New Cree LED Bulb is available at The Home Depot® for as low as US $7.97. This is a 20% price mark down compared to previous bulb products, said Cree.

Purdue University researchers' success in using red and blue LEDs as the only source of light to grow ornamental plant seedlings indoors has led to a new phase of determining whether they can reduce production time with more colors.

Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI), Taiwan's largest and one of the world's leading high-tech research and development institutions, is pleased to introduce In-Line Compact Thermal Analyzer (ICTA) Technology. The world's leading automatic thermal analyzer, ICTA offers a measurement speed of 12,000 LEDs per hour, reducing each LED's component thermal resistance testing time to 0.3 seconds. This is 2,000 times faster than the traditional lab method where only six components can be measured per hour. ITRI will receive a 2014 R&D 100 Award  in November for this breakthrough technology in the "Imaging" category.

To satisfy consumer demand for fresh, affordable produce and other horticultural products throughout the year, growers are increasingly turning to indoor growing operations. Growers are using indoor hydroponics and aquaponics systems that are more efficient in producing year around yields without the threat of droughts, diseases, or nutrient deficiencies from our depleted farm lands. Such indoor operations provide a grower the ability to more precisely control for temperature, humidity, water and lighting.