To fight against the continuously spreading coronavirus, China purchased self-driving disinfection robots with UVC light to run in hospitals. Danish company UVD Robots signed an agreement with a medical equipment supplier to the Chinese market, Sunay Healthcare Supply. The partnership will ship the UVC light equipped robots to China for hospital deployment. (Image: UVD Robots) UVD Robots is a Danish company established from a project between Odense University Hospital and Blue Robotics with their development of an UV-disinfection robot providing auto...

As the novel coronavirus, also known as COVID-19, continues to spread across the world, people become more alert to public health issues. Hospitals, where people go seek for health care and treatment, usually gather individual with potential health problem and become a risky environment for others. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in the U.S., approximately 1 in 25 patients contract healthcacre-associated infections (HAIs) in hospitals. Despite that standard cleaning procedures cover manual application of detergents and disinfectants,...

Mariana Figueiro, director of the Lighting Research Center (LRC) at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, continues to enhance the lighting treatment developed for older adults with Alzheimer’s disease. The research team recently announced a US$ 3 million grant renewal from the National Institute on Aging (NIA). Figueiro has demonstrated that providing light exposure of certain amounts and qualities throughout the day can improves sleep patterns, sociability, and agitation, while decreasing symptoms of depression. With the latest grant renewal, Figueiro and her t...

Signify announced at EuroShop 2020 its further step in the Retail IoT space through the launch of Interact Retail multisite management – a cloud-based, connected lighting system designed for multiple stores and retail distribution centers. The system will be adopted by UK retailer Marks & Spencer (M&S). (Image: Signify) The new features make it possible to create a network of connected stores, helping s the retailer to create and manage uniform light schedules for its stores from a single dashboard. The retailers can thus define scenes and schedules on ...

US-based container farm developer Freight Farms has raised US$15 million in Series B funding led by Ospraie Ag Science, an investment firm committed to supporting sustainable solutions. The investment round, which received participation from existing investor Spark Capital, brings the company's total funding to more than US$ 28 million. Freight Farms specialized in containerized vertical agriculture. Its product, named “Greenery,” incorporates hydroponic systems and LED lighting, enabling production of more than 500 varieties of crops at commercial s...

Analog Devices, Inc. (ADI) announced a collaboration with Jungo to develop a Time-of-Flight (ToF) and 2D infrared- (IR) based camera solution to enable driver- and in-cabin monitoring in vehicles. (Image: ADI) The combination of ADI’s ToF technology with Jungo’s Codriver software is expected to enable the monitoring of vehicle occupants for levels of drowsiness and distraction by observing head and body position as well as eye gaze. The solution is also expected to enable smart vehicle interaction based on face, body, and hand gestures, and offer ...

Israel-based LiDAR company Innoviz Technologies announced its partnership with Shaanxi Heavy Duty Automobile, a truck manufacturer based in Xian China, which is also known as Shacman Trucks outside China. With the cooperation, Innoviz will supply its LiDAR sensors for developing autonomous trucks for an upcoming project in one of the biggest ports in China. At the first stage of the project, InnovizPro LiDAR is being utilized in Shaanxi Truck's autonomous proof of concept project at the Chinese port, with Shaanxi's ultimate goal being the deployme...

  In its latest blog post, Osram addressed the significance of smart street lighting for future cities, noting that the digital transformation of city services is critical and will rely on connected city infrastructure. The United Nations foresees that by 2050, 68% of the world population will live in urban areas. For enhanced safety, operational efficiency and sustainability, this growing and concentrated population need to be supported by integrated system and services. Smart street lighting thus serves as a primary smart city installation to simultaneously create the unde...

Smart lighting solution provider Gooee announce its partnership with TClarke, a UK engineering company. The two partners signed a 5-year UK exclusive agreement enabling the Building Services Group to sell, install and maintain the Gooee suite of smart building products. As part of this agreement, TClarke has also taken a strategic shareholding in Gooee. This strategic partnership will enable Gooee’s platform to be deployed at scale throughout the UK and for the company to grow whilst taking advantage of the rapidly increasing demand for proptech solutions, focus...

By using LED lighting system, a researcher successfully speeds up the production cycle of hops and tricks them to flower without dormancy. Bill Bauerle, professor in the Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture at Colorado State University (CSU), has spent years in the horticultural research center of the university to optimize hops cultivation. With the support of horticulture LED lighting system, Bauerie opens up new possibilities for indoor, sustainable, local production of hops (Image: Colorado State University) Hops are almost exclusively ...

Pioneer Smart Sensing Innovations (PSSI), the subsidiary of Pioneer focuses LiDAR sensors, announced its partnership with eMoovit, a company incorporated abroad in Malaysia of MooVita, for a 5G autonomous driving demonstration taking place in Malaysia from January 2020. This demonstration is done as a part of “5G Demonstration Project” which is convened in six states of the country by Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission, and verify for autonomous driving through 5G in partnership with Altel. The autonomous vehicle in the form of a...

Acuva Technologies announced the closing of a US$5.4 million growth financing with a syndicate of existing and new investors to deliver the Company's innovative drinking water purification systems to global consumers. The proceeds of the financing will be used to meet the rapidly growing demand for Acuva's proprietary products in global markets and to fund the growth of the Company's teams both in Canada and abroad. Acuva has established global leadership is UV-LED disinfection technology and secured partnerships with several major international Original Eq...

Several studies have indicated that flickering light can help to cure Alzheimer disease. A new study published by researchers at Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University further identifies how the flickering light works. The researchers found that the exposure to light pulsing at 40 hertz – 40 beats per second – causes brains to release a surge of signaling chemicals that may help fight the disease. The new finding was published in the Journal of Neurosceince on February 5, 2020. In 2016, flickering light was first linked with Alzheimer disease with ...

UK-based Micro LED technology developer Plessey announced at Photonics West its’ new partnership with WaveOptics, a designer and manufacturer of diffractive waveguides. (Image: WaveOptics/Plessey) This two companies aim to create a new optical module for next generation smart glasses incorporating Plessey’s native green Micro LED full HD display with WaveOptics’ Katana waveguide technology and projector design. The full HD Micro LED display from Plessey is the result of its previously announced partnership with Compound Photonics, t...

Dimer UVC Innovations is a US-based company providing UVC light disinfection systems. The company is offering its GermFalcon®, a germ-killing robot that sanitizes airplanes, to assist airlines and federal agencies disrupt the spread of coronavirus. GermFalcon, developed by Dimer UVC Innovations, was specifically created to improve airplane hygiene industry-wide. The groundbreaking system uses ultraviolet-C (UVC) light to kill viruses, bacteria, and superbugs on surfaces and in the surrounding air. Designed to easily navigate an airplane cabin, GermFalcon&rs...

Fluence by OSRAM is expanding its business in Europe and announced the partnership with growers and other horticulture specialists in Papenburg, the Emsland region of Germany. Given Papenburg’s decades-long history of attracting horticulture experts, Fluence’s innovative lighting solutions for horticulture are a natural fit for the region’s tomato, cucumber, leafy greens and herb growers. Elektro Evers, an engineering firm specializing in greenhouse technology, is Fluence’s exclusive systems integrator in the Papenburg region. Elektro Evers as...

An EU funded project, named ENABLED, is working on creating LEDs with artificial fluorescent proteins to make the lighting source more sustainable. Currently, LED lamps consist of a blue-emitting chip and an optical filter made of inorganic phosphors, rare earth minerals that transforms blue light into the white light. This filter does not efficiently convert blue light, causing serious implications on visual acuity in children and sleep disorder in adults. Moreover, inorganic phosphors are quite scarce and are listed as one of the 27 critical raw materials by the Euro...

UV light has been used widely in disinfection with a wide range of medical and non-medical products available in the market. In the time when the whole world is fighting against the coronavirus outbreak, LEDs that deliver virus killing UV lights might be a practical solution for preventing infection. UV light is germicidal because it inactivates microorganisms by destroying nucleic acids and disrupting their DNA with its short wavelength. In addition, oxygen can also absorbed energy from UV light to form ozone for disinfection. (Image: Pixabay) According to curren...

The ZKW Group, which was acquired by LG Electronics in 2018, announced that it has established a branch in Incheon, Korea in December 2019, with the integration with the rear light business of LG Electronics. The company also integrated the rear light production of LG Electronics in Ningbo, China. These new locations are added with the aim to further expand business in the Korean automotive market and the Asia-Pacific region. (Image: ZKW) At the time ZKW was acquired by LG in 2018, it was already agreed that the “Exterior Lighting for Automoti...

Samsung Electronics announced its collaboration with Niio Art, a platform for new media art, to launch an open call for new media artists for the Samsung The Wall x Niio Art Awards. The award aims to discover inspiring digital art from around the world. Entrants will compete for a chance to be exhibited internationally on Samsung’s The Wall, the highest quality, large form factor 4K Micro LED digital art canvas, and qualify for up to $15,000 in cash prizes. The competition will culminate in summer exhibitions at ten showcase locations including Korea, Singapore, ...

A research team in Taiwan measured lamps in the market and found that nearly all the desk lamps are too bright that they may damage the eye. Jwo-Huei Jou, professor at Taiwan’s National Tsing Hwa University (NTHU), and his team consisting of student from Shu Guang Girl's Senior High School and Ho-Shin Chen and NTHU, measured that white CFL with a color temperature of 5600K at an illuminance of 101 lux permits 29-minute reading time, and white LED of 5300K at 196 lux permits only 13 minutes. Situation would become worse with a blue light-enrich...

Wireless lighting control expert Casambi announced that it has signed an agreement with Osram to extend their technology partnership. The two companies will leverage their expertise to develop further intelligent Casambi-ready hardware, as well as lighting control software solutions for the professional lighting market. (Image provided by Casambi, photo credit: NicoElNino / Shutterstock) Casambi’s embedded Bluetooth module is designed for integration with LED drivers, lighting control systems and light fixtures. The module is pre-programmed with Casambi’s ...

Researchers from Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH) published a new study on Nature Reviews Materials with their development of 'Smart Light-emitting diode (LED) Contact Lens,' which enables diagnosis of diabetes and treatment of diabetic retinopathy. Professor Sei Kwang Hahn and his research team including his PhD student, Geon-Hui Lee, invented a smart photonic contact lens and a wearable medical device which can diagnose diabetes and treat diabetic retinopathy in collaboration with the research group led by Zhenan Bao from De...

Right after CES 2020, there are more international shows coming up and LiDAR technology builders continue their journey. LeddarTech and its Japanese distributor Nagase are exhibiting at CAR-ELE as part of Automotive World 2020 in Tokyo starting January 15. Meanwhile, Israeli weighing technology expert and Hitachi unveiled their collaboration result at NRF 2020 Vision (Retails Big Show). Canadian LeddarTech will join its Japanese distribution partner, Nagase, at Automotive World 2020 in Tokyo, Japan. The Automotive World show brings together a va...

At CES 2020, many exhibitors showcased their innovative applications incorporating LiDAR technology, including autonomous vehicles, robot cleaning service, autonomous food delivering service and more. Several LiDAR companies also introduced their new products or announced new partnerships with other industry players at the event. SOS LAB, a LiDAR startup for self-driving cars, reported that it has signed a LiDAR collaboration memorandum of understanding (MOU) with ON Semiconductor. They aim to advance the development and commercialization of LiDAR tec...

Even though it is likely that most of us would be more impressed with fascinating Micro LED displays or next-gen vehicles during big shows such as CES, LED lighting products still have their place at CES 2020 and are “connected.” Ring announced its new Control Center alongside six new products at CES 2020 that further expand its whole-home security lineup and enable users to have even more control of their devices and security. (Image: Ring) The new Control Center, expected to come to the Ring mobile app later this month, will initially enable R...

CES 2020 officially kicked out on yesterday in Las Vegas with more than four thousands companies all over the world presenting their novel applications and technologies. Automotive applications covering autonomous driving technologies are one major field targeted by worldwide technology builders. After SONY demonstrated the conceptual electronic vehicle Vision S at its press conference, several LiDAR companies also revealed their new LiDAR sensors at CES with a wide range of applications. (Image: Velodyne) Velodyne Lidar introduced Velabit™, the co...

AUO announced its participation to CES to present its latest display technologies and applications that are transforming smart and connected vehicles, and facilitating ultimate user experience at home, at work and on the go. Exhibit highlights include technologies to realize a full digital cockpit: direct bonding lamination of multiple large-sized curved panels, Mini LED backlight with optimal HDR performance, in-cell touch solution with touch and display driver IC integration for thinner structure, plus through-hole design in the display active area to install knobs and b...

Infineon Technologies has collaborated with software and 3D Time of Flight (ToF) system specialist pmdtechnologies to develop the world’s smallest 3D image sensor, and is presenting it at CES 2020 in Las Vegas. The new REAL3™ single-chip solution measures 4.4 x 5.1 mm, allowing it to be incorporated into small size devices to provide high resolution data with low power consumption. (Image: Infineon) “With the fifth generation of our REAL3™ chip we are once again demonstrating our leading position in the field of 3D sensors,” sa...

Seoul Semiconductor and Seoul Viosys announced that they are introducing the new concept display, ‘Micro Clean LED’ at CES 2020. The new concept of Micro Clean LED, which Seoul Viosys developed, is the technology that realizes 4K resolution TV sizes from 42 inch to 220 inch with 1 RGB LED per pixel and is ready for mass production. The Micro Clean LED solutions for a smart watch display also will be demonstrated at CES 2020. (Image: Seoul Semicondutor) Seoul Semiconductor and Seoul Viosys leverage their expertise in developing...