Created in 2003 by Philips and LUCI (Lighting Urban Community International), the city.people.light is an annual award that is attempting to rehumanize the urban environment through light. It also rewarding cities that are exploring ways to maximize energy efficiency, improve sustainability and livability. The 2013 Awards has been conferred to the following cities: Rietberg, Germany, Seoul, South Korea, Geneva, Switzerland, Zhengzhou, China, and Wuppertal, Germany.

Philips Lighting blogger Monique Cosineau talks to Canadian designer David Sasaki about his Light Fall design, which clinched second place at the 2013 CLU Foundation Contest. Below is the interview posted on Philips Lighting blog:

Toshiba Corporation flipped the switch on the new "Centennial Holiday Light Show" in New York City's Grand Central Terminal on November 21. The colorful animated display can be seen on the monumental windows above the Terminal's west balcony through December 26, 2013. Click here for the full press release.

With continual falls in large sized backlight LED TV prices, penetration rates for direct-view type LED TV (aka Chubby TV) is expected to grow in 2014. EMC lead frame drivers have advantages in 1-3W power range, and is expected to lead the mid to high power market. It is also the most commonly used LED chip in direct-view type LED TV. However, with improvements in PCT lead frame driver power output to 1-1.2W, manufacturers are also launching PCT products for direct-view type LED backlight TV. 

Goldee today revealed the Goldee Light Controller – a reinvention of the light switch that redefines how people interact with light. Goldee translates information from your surroundings into smart functions that respond to your lighting needs. Today starts the crowd- funding campaign during which customers can pre-order Goldee for an exclusive price of US$ 249 directly at getgoldee.com.

FZLED is pleased to release the latest collection in T8 series LED Tube: T8-05L LED Tube Lights. It uses SMD LED and offers 10, 18 and 20 watt in two feet (58 and 60cm) and four feet long (120cm). It is direct replacement for traditional T8 tubes and fits standard G13 sockets with an AC voltage range of 100-240V. 

Direct-view type LED TV aka chubby TV with its cost advantages and has been a market highlight in 2013. Chubby TV has been using secondary optic lens to continually improve its features. By increasing beam angle, the LED TV has successfully met the challenge of shortening OD to 15 mm without adding LEDs. The chubby TV not only has cost advantages, it has also shed off its thick appearance and now holds the same advantages as the thin edge-view type LED TV. The industry predicts 15 mm OD TV model will become the next major industry spec in 2014.

Sammi Gros has invented a new type of LED “Tail Lights.” They are not your usual LED tail lights for automotive applications, but six LED double sided strands clipped to horse tails. According to Kickstarter’s product introduction, Gros decided to launch safety lights for equestrian lovers after being hit by a car during a riding trip with a friend four years ago. The safety lights for horses aims to help avoid potential motor accidents for riders.

British LED lighting company PhotonStar Technology Ltd. has announced its new consumer Smart Bulb system Halcyon™, to be available to the general market early 2014 but with a small pre-production run to go to Kickstarter backers in the next few weeks.

Designed Together to Work Together™, GE’s LED lighting complemented by USG’s ceiling and wall solutions helps free commercial architects, designers and building contractors from the constraints of traditional design. From seamless ceilings to customized wall murals, GE and USG provide advanced engineering and striking aesthetics for commercial lighting.

Dialog Semiconductor plc (FWB: DLG), a provider of highly integrated power management, AC/DC, solid state lighting and short-range wireless technologies, today announced a strategic collaboration with Sengled, a global leading provider of LED lighting solutions and Dialog’s first partner for the commercialization of Dialog’s smarteXiteTM platform. Based on fully configurable logic, smarteXite integrates the latest digital dimming standard – Ledotron™ – and enables a new generation of highly flexible and intelligent LED driver ICs for smart lighting applications.

Intematix Corp., a leading innovator of patented phosphor solutions for high-quality LED lighting, today announced the volume shipments of their remote phosphor component that enables 150W equivalent LED retrofit lamps. This production release adds to the product family already enabling 40W, 60W, 75W and 100W bulb replacements all using a similar omnidirectional form factor.

Philips and Desso - global leaders in lighting and carpets respectively - today announce a partnership agreement to develop solutions that combine LED lighting with light transmissive carpet. This innovation will further unlock the potential of LED integration into surfaces and adds an exciting dimension to interior design and space planning. The solution will transform the way people interact with information and their environment in offices, hotels, conference centers and other public buildings.

Building owners and operators are becoming increasingly aware of the impact lighting can have on energy costs and the way it can contribute to savings. But the best lighting technology for each application must first be identified before maximum savings can be achieved.

Konica Minolta Sensing Americas, Inc. (KMSA), the worldwide leader in the industrial measurement of color and light, is continuing to build on its industry-leading position in light and display measurement technology by exploring new business opportunities and gaining entry into new markets with the newly acquired Instrument Systems GmbH (IS) product line. Beginning third quarter 2013, the company gained exclusive distribution rights to Instrument Systems product portfolio in North America and Canada following the acquisition by Konica Minolta Optics, Inc. (KMOP).

Ultra-modern LED projection technology: Once behind the wheel, the Opel Monza Concept whisks you away into a completely new and unique world of instruments and infotainment with a wide, sculpted multi-function panel that sweeps from door to door.

The Empire State Building towers will light purple today in honor of the third annual World Prematurity Day. Parent groups and organizations worldwide are joining together to raise awareness of the serious problem of premature birth. An estimated 15 million babies around the world are born too soon every year, including nearly half a million in the United States. Learn more about what you can do to help, and send your family and friends a “virtual hug” to show you care about premature babies at facebook.com/WorldPrematurityDay. Special thanks to the Empire State Building for supporting 2013 World Prematurity Day.

Royal Philips shared its new brand positioning, which builds on the company’s heritage of creating innovations that matter to people. As part of its new positioning Philips introduced the new brand line “innovation and you”, which is rooted in Philips’ strong belief that innovation is only meaningful if it delivers on people’s unmet needs and desires. At the same time the company presented a new design of its well-known shield on the façade of the company’s headquarters in Amsterdam.

Embattled Taiwanese LED packager Everlight and Japanese manufacturer Nichia both published press releases on Nov. 6, 2013 regarding their latest YAG patent dispute in China. The two companies ongoing patent wars has rekindled LED industry interests on patent issues. Aside from potential patent disputes from Nichia, Taiwanese manufacturers should also pay attention to Philips patent alliance formation, said Hsieh Chia-fen, Engineer for Electronics and Optoelectronics Technologies at Taiwan’s Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI). 

The Eindhoven region will receive the first innovative bicycle path in the Netherlands. The 600 meters long bicycle path runs where Vincent van Gogh lived from 1883 to 1885 and will have a unique design comprising thousands of sparkling stones designed by artist Daan Roosegaarde. The bicycle path will be designed by Studio Roosegaarde and Heijmans and is part of a joint venture between the municipality of Eindhoven, Van Gogh Brabant, Vrijetijdshuis Brabant, Eindhoven 365 and Routebureau Brabant.

The USS Missouri has signed an agreement with Axis LED Lighting to retrofit the museum battleship with state of the art LED lighting and has retained the consultant firm Allana Buick & Bers to assist them in the overall energy retrofit. LED Lighting will greatly reduce the energy needed to light the historic site. Axis LEDs reduce energy consumption by up to 70%, last three times longer than conventional lighting and generate virtually no heat when compared to conventional lighting. 

Wireless micro-LED devices are allowing researchers to use optogenetics to uncover information about molecular and cellular events in the brain that underlie stress, addiction and depression.

Veeco Instruments Inc. announced that the Guangdong Redsolar Photovoltaic Tech Co., Ltd (Redsolar), a leading producer of concentrated photovoltaic (CPV) solar cells in China, has purchased multiple TurboDisc® K475™ As/P MOCVD (metal organic chemical vapor deposition) Systems. The TurboDisc K475 MOCVD tool is a fully integrated deposition system that creates high quality compound semiconductor layers for CPV devices.  

Philips Lighting North America announced that it was recently awarded a 10 year performance lighting contract with the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA). Washington Metro Goes Green & Saves Green with Philips Performance Lighting Contract, Delivering on Sustainability Goals with 15 Million kWh Saved Annually. Innovative new multi-year, turn-key lighting-as-a-service model gives WMATA brighter, safer LED lighting for garages, with none of the up-front cost.

Raleigh Orthopaedic Clinic may be the oldest orthopaedic practice in New Connitecut, U.S., but with the opening of their new 98,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art practice headquarters and surgery center in northwest Raleigh, they’ve stepped into the 21st century in a big way.

An earlier report by Women Citizen projecting Apple’s smartphone dominance is to be challenged by Samsung’s AMOLED technology has been proven wrong by a recent Bloomberg report. Apple has no intention of being left behind by Samsung in the race of developing curved smartphones, according to the Bloomberg report. Citing an unnamed source familiar with the new project, the report noted Apple is developing a new generation of smartphones with curved glass and enhanced sensors.

A small study research has revealed patients in average hospital rooms are getting inadequate lighting exposure that it is affecting their bodies normal sleep-wake cycle, according to a Reuters report. 

Kingsun LED Lights (Kingsun) has signed a LiFi communication and positioning system partnership agreement with Beijing Tsinghua University in May 2013, according to a company post on Chinese social media website Weibo. The company has successfully developed LiFi cellphone samples. The company expects the products can reach marketization once it achieves iPhone size and weight.

Osram, a lighting fixture manufacturer, is equipping the Sistine Chapel in Rome with a new type of LED solution. After 500 years, the art-historically outstanding works can now be viewed to a level of precision unique, and the especially art-conserving installation enables significantly higher illuminance values.

A new report from IHS breaks down iPad Air's components to reveal that the new product costs are actually much lower, and the company might be getting a much fatter profit. However, costs for iPad Air display has actually gone up, despite a cutback on LEDs for backlight. The lighter weight requirement has raised subsystem prices. IHS analyst Andrew Rassweiler told AllthingsD reporter, that the new iPad Air has used optical film to help distribute light better and cut down product weight.