Smart lighting has been developed for years, but products and applications are not really used widely. In 2017, however, smart lighting has begun to escalate with diversification of products, continuous improvements of technology, maturing ecosystem of industry chain, and active promotion of manufacturers. According to the latest data of LEDinside, a division of TrendForce, the global smart lighting market reached a value close to US$4.6 billion in 2017 with an annual growth rate of 95%. The market size is expected to reach US$13.4 billion in 2020. Read more at https://press.trendforce.com/press/20180320-3078.html#GogpHqGqEKOZDt2W.99

According to the latest Gold Member Report - LED Industry Demand and Supply Data Base from LEDinside, a division of the market research firm TrendForce, in 2017, due to the stable prices on LED market and the rapid growth of automotive lighting and outdoor architectural lighting, LED market value of 2017 reached USD 17.16 billion, up 7.4% YoY.

Light + Building 2018, the largest trade fair for lighting and building services technology in Europe, officially begins on March 18. For the next six days, 18-23 March, exhibitors at the show will showcase their state-of-the-art products and technologies, whether they are for lighting, communication, building automation, or automotive applications.

Light + Building opens its doors in Frankfurt am Main from Sunday, 18 March, to Friday, 23 March 2018. Over 2,700 exhibitors from 55 countries are showing their latest products and innovations for the lighting, electrical engineering, home and building automation and safety and security sectors on more than 260,000 square metres spread in25 exhibition halls.

The use of Japanese NICHIA LED design, the overall luminous flux up to 16,200 lumens, efficiency 135 lumens / watt, replace the 500W ~ 800W traditional mercury lamp applications, saving 85% of electricity costs; use Mingwei power HLG seven-year warranty LED special series, lamp life up to 10 year.

Tridonic initiated patent lawsuits against telecommunication retailer S-KON eKontor24 GmbH. Although District Court Munich I affirmed Tridonic’s arguments, parties agreed on a settlement for reasons of legal certainty and prompt settlement of the dispute.

Czech technological company IQ Structures developed a new optical system NANOPTIQS.

Ingolstadt car manufacturer Audi uses the expertise of Osram Opto Semiconductors in the front lighting of its new flagship. The Oslon Compact PL for adaptive front lighting has been installed in the Audi A8 for the first time. The Oslon Black Flat S in its 3-chip version provides an extended beam range. In addition, the tried and tested Topled is used in the sedan’s daytime running lights.

Lumileds introduced the LUXEON CZ Color Line, a product line optimized to deliver maximum punch. “The LUXEON CZ features up to 48% higher punch than any other undomed color LED,” said Jennifer Holland, Product Line Director of the LUXEON Color Family. The company has witnessed in the market the trend to color tuning fixtures with narrow beam angles and maximum punch. The LUXEON CZ Color Line consists of 21 LED color options, which includes 13 color and 8 white emitters.

Future Lighting Solutions announces the immediate availability of Optisolis from Nichia, the most advanced Ultra-High Color Rendering white LED the world has ever seen.

The nights in the German federal states („Bundesländer") have been getting brighter and brighter - but not everywhere at the same rate and with one peculiar exemption: light emissions from Thuringia decreased between 2012 and 2017.

A team led by engineers at the University of California San Diego has used data mining and computational tools to discover a new phosphor material for white LEDs that is inexpensive and easy to make.

Through a European project, VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland and Neonelektro have developed new types of LED displays that combine the flexibility, low cost and high technical performance enabled by roll-to-roll mass manufacturing technology.

Seoul Semiconductor announces that its SunLike Series LEDs, which implement light closest to the spectrum of natural sunlight, have been adopted for a series of luminaires designed by FLOS Architectural, a specialty lighting company based in Spain.

A soft, flexible contact lens can monitor glucose levels in tears and deliver sensing results through the lens display, alerting the user if glucose levels are too high by turning off a tiny embedded LED light, according to a new report from UNIST, Korea.

LED technology has been widely adopted in lighting because it is highly energy efficient and durable. On the other hand, LED lamps contain a number of delicate semiconductor elements, which are more susceptible to power surge damages than conventional lamps. Especially in countries where power grids are relatively unstable, damages to LED products caused by power surge are more common.

Seoul Semiconductor announces that its SunLike Series LEDs, which implement light closest to the spectrum of natural sunlight, have been adopted for the Spectra luminaires of LED Luks, a specialty lighting company based in Slovenia.

A new, high-end LED video wall from Sansi North America (SNA) Displays is the visual centerpiece of the newly renovated Bank of Hawaii main branch location in downtown Honolulu.

Heliospectra AB (publ), speicalizing in intelligent lighting technology for greenhouses and controlled farming environments, announces a new order from a licensed producer of cannabis in Ontario, Canada. Heliospectra's value-added reseller AcquiFlow secured the market-leading lighting solutions for the business leader in Canada's evolving cannabis landscape. The order value is 524 307 SEK (USD $63,547).

AEssenseGrows, an ag-tech company specializing in automated aeroponic platforms for high-yield plant production, introduced a cost calculator to help customers manage electricity expense and increase profitability.

Samsung Electronics announced that it has achieved the industry’s highest light efficacies for its fillet-enhanced chip-scale package (FEC) LED lineup – LM101B, LH181B and LH231B.

Seoul Semiconductor announced on March 8, 2018 that it has filed three new patent infringement lawsuits, together with its affiliate, Seoul Viosys Co., Ltd. (collectively “Seoul”), against a lighting company and distributors selling products that allegedly infringe Seoul's Acrich patents.

LITE-ON Technology today reported February consolidated revenue of NT$13.04 billion, decreased 21% M-o-M and 19% Y/Y, mainly impacted by the Chinese Lunar New Year holiday shutdown. Cumulative sales for January and February totaled NT$29.54 billion.

LEDtronics introduces the latest additions to its highly popular and affordable series of dimmable, high-lumen and high-efficiency LED High Bay Fixtures.

Silvair announces partnerships with Fulham, McWong International, Murata, Danlers, ERP Power and DG Light to bring to the market a wide range of components and products designed for setting up smart lighting infrastructures in commercial spaces.

Silvair, a pioneer in lighting control technology based on Bluetooth mesh, announces its partnership with Sylvania - a full-spectrum provider of professional and architectural lighting solutions. The collaboration will focus on introducing one of the world’s first Bluetooth mesh certified lighting control systems for professional applications.

ON Semiconductor, driving energy efficient innovations, has announced two new QR PSR PWM controllers for LED lighting with Power Factor Control (PFC) function. The dimmable NCL30386 and the non-dimmable NCL30388 provide market-leading options for designers of LED lighting units such as luminaires used in office and industrial building applications.

Brightek will exhibit on Shanghai Auto Lamp Exhibition at Booth T231 from March 28th to March 29th, displaying a variety of automotive LEDs with newly-launched products on site. 

Stocks of Taiwanese pattern sapphire substrate (PSS) providers, including Crystalwise, Rigitech Microelectronics, and Acme Electronics, lately witness a noticeable hike.

AIXTRON SE has a number of stock option programs in place that grant employees the right to purchase AIXTRON shares under certain conditions. The company in February announced its financial results for fiscal year 2017 and the fourth quarter 2017.