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General Lighting Environmental Lighting Future LED

Factory Without Borders Helps Deliver LED Lighting to Consumers Worldwide

Factory Without Borders announced in early September that they, along with Chinese LED lighting manufacturer Outrace Technology Co., Ltd. (Outrace), would provide constant, international monitoring of their manufacturing and delivery processes. The move is designed to allow customers to place orders at any time, regardless of where they are in the world. It will also help Outrace track production, determine inventory needs, and follow delivery logistics in real time.

checking phone updateTransforming the Lighting Industry

Factory Without Borders is revolutionizing the lighting industry with the new technology. It is the first in the world to digitize and customize production programming. Considering the growth of the LED industry, this places Outrace in an advanced position among its competitors. In addition, Outrace’s RFID Application System (a tagging-and-tracking system) that had originally been just an abstract, creative idea, is now a reality. Many experts believe that these advancements may demonstrate the future of globalized products, service production models, and new outlooks for entire production chains.

With Global Real-Time Monitoring, Customers Become Involved in Production

Customers will now be able to view their order in real time, enabling them to better plan inventory and customize their own experience with Outrace. The process will make it easier to predict and track delivery times according to the personnel and warehouse space available.

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Brazil at night. As population grows, so do energy needs.

OEM and ODM Production Management Finds Solutions

Outrace is an emerging LED producer and expects to become more involved in the global LED market through this partnership with Factory Without Borders. It is one of the largest OEM/ODM LED light manufacturers in the world (i.e., They are one of the largest companies that designs and manufactures their own LED equipment and products). Initially, the company plans to focus on the United States and Brazil, as they have the highest concentration of LED producers. However, they have begun conducting research in Singapore and Taiwan as well as other countries who have begun to increase their need for LED products.

Asia in Race to Replace Lighting

Asia is the latest market to see significant growth in the LED lighting industryits businesses and residences have begun replacing incandescent bulbs with more energy-efficient LED lighting. In Malaysia, 6,000 people participated in the very first Light-Emitting Diode (LED) night run. The event was organized to encourage Malaysians to switch to LED lights, calling them “magical” when compared to incandescent lighting. In addition to the night run, The Marathon Shop organized workshops on the technical aspects of LED technology while also managing water stands along the route.

LED lighting has become increasingly more popular than incandescent lighting over the past few years. With the addition of real-time production and delivery management, it is expected that the increased global use of energy-efficient lighting will continue.

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General Lighting Future Future of technology LED

3D-Printed LED LightPaper Places Lighting on Almost Any Surface

The range of applications for 3D printing are well known, as the technology is already used creatively in foods, metals, ceramics, and even organ transplant surgeries. Even so, we’ve only begun to utilize the full capabilities of 3D printing. So what’s next? A startup company called Rohinni says, “We print light.”

A Paper-Thin LED Light

Rohinni has invented an LED light product aptly named LightPaper. It is paper-thin and can be used to print a light-up version of, well, just about anything. LightPaper is made with a mixture of ink and extremely small LEDs applied to a conductive surface and then sealed between two other thin layers. Heard of the new Oreo Thins? Well, think thinner. Within LightPaper, there are thousands of tiny diodes; each one is nearly the size of a human red blood cell and lights up when a current is run through them.


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3D-Printed Light Could Change Everything

A paper-thin LED surface like LightPaper has many unique qualities. First off, it needs no batteries. Secondly, it can be made into any shape desired by designers—much like regular paper, we can mold it into whatever we want. Another couple of LightPaper perks is that it is considered eco-friendly and that it will [probably] be cheap to manufacture. I have to admit, this whole thing is pretty darn cool—I mean, imagine what we could do with 3D light-paper printers at home! (Maybe we could build the coolest collection of paper airplanes ever, that’s what.)

But I digress. Paper-thin lighting could someday replace (or enhance) fine art, television screens, window tinting, and logos on mobile devices. It may even eliminate lighting fixtures, lamps, and light bulbs—we could simply lay strips of LED paper above our couches or on our ceilings to light up our rooms. LightPaper could change how we read, and write, and advertise, and take pictures, and decorate, and customize cars, and . . . okay, okay, I’ll stop here, but the point is, the potential here is tremendous.

led-light-up-jacket-running-messages-futureUsing LightPaper Technology

Some speculate that 3D-printed light paper could be available to consumers by the end of 2015. Rohinni has said they plan to corner the commercial and industrial markets before moving elsewhere. Given LED paper’s super-lightweight quality, I would anticipate first seeing the technology applied to TVs, mobile devices, and printed media before anything else.

According to one marketing executive at Rohinni, “Anywhere there is a light, this could replace that.” He followed up with: “Everything the light light touches is our kingdom.” (Okay, that one was from The Lion King, but it’s still pretty applicable).

If they can pull this off, Rohinni and LED paper can really change the lighting industry. As technology improves, companies like Rohinni will hopefully find ways to get their paper into homes, supermarkets, and—as they mentioned—anywhere there is light.

Would you use LightPaper in your home? Where would you put it? Share some ideas with me below (I might throw a few your way, too)!

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General Lighting Environmental Lighting Future LED

Endangered Birds Are Wounded by Deadly Light Pollution in Hawaii

Misdirected lighting from an Air Force Base in Hawaii is causing birds to literally fall from the sky. While we’ve long known that light pollution can impact avian life, the severity of that impact is now becoming clear. Fortunately, lighting technology is developing faster than ever before, so solutions are available.

Misdirected Lighting and Its Effect on Birds

More than 126 birds have recently fallen around Hawaii’s Kokee Air Force Station. Ten of them have died. Affected birds include Newell’s shearwaters, a threatened species, and the endangered Hawaiian petrels. Birds flying over the base seem to be distracted by the combination of bright lighting and foggy weather, which causes them to crash into objects or fly, confused, until exhaustion. The US Air Force has redirected their lighting fixtures and the number of incidents has already declined.

 

Light Pollution Alters Birds’ Daily Lifecycles

Left: Photo of sky in a rural area with minimal lighting. Right: Photo of sky in an urban environment with the telltale “glow” from light pollution.
Left: Photo of sky in a rural area with minimal lighting. Right: Photo of sky in an urban environment with the telltale “glow” from light pollution.

The phenomenon in Hawaii is emblematic of a larger problem concerning birds and night light. Birds, just like humans, have circadian rhythms that govern their daily biological cycles. Excessive night light alters these rhythms and disorients feeding schedules, reproductive cycles, directional awareness, and more. A study published in the Journal of Pineal Research found that animals with disrupted circadian rhythms (catalyzed in this case by an overexposure to artificial light) also struggle to produce melatonin, which can lead to an increased production of fat, a higher likelihood of heart disease, lower metabolism, risk of hypertension, etc. Urban areas are particularly problematic for birds because the bright lights make it tough for them to differentiate between daytime and nighttime. Scientists stress that birds cannot function normally in habitats where natural lighting has been so severely altered.

 

 

Amber LEDs May Accommodate Wildlife

Although the proliferation of night lighting has caused this problem, lighting technology offers solutions. There are full lines of wildlife-friendly LED lighting available. Amber LEDs, for example, operate at a wavelength that does not disrupt the flora and fauna around it, but provides enough light to illuminate a given area. Companies like the one linked to above offer reflectors that prevent light from reaching anywhere it isn’t needed. The amber lights also have the energy-saving perks of LED lights; Energy.gov notes that “LEDs use 20%–30% of the energy and last up to 25 times longer than traditional incandescent bulbs.”

Your turn. Will LED lighting be enough to prevent interference in the lives of wild species? What other measures do we have to take to protect animals from light pollution? Share and tweet this article with your thoughts—I’ll follow up. 

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Future LED

On the Catwalk: LED Technology and High Fashion

Fedoras. Meat dresses. Handlebar mustaches. Full-body sweaters. Whatever these are.

The world of fashion has been known to make some wild (see: questionable) decisions, and I won’t pretend to be able to keep up with every new trend that hits the runway. However, there is one brilliant fashion choice that has grabbed my attention: LEDs.

Believe it or not, there is actually remarkable work being done out there to make light-emitting diodes wearable. Rapid technological reforms and the continued miniaturization of LED lighting have allowed LEDs to be embedded directly into fabrics to create myriad new possibilities.

Already, there are markets for dresses with hundreds of ingrained, color-changing LED lights and for those with waves of LEDs that create moving patterns along the fabric. This impressive LED catsuit already exists. The cool, low-voltage, and subtle luminosity of LEDs can make an article of clothing stand out, yet allow its wearer to maintain some kind of social decorum.

led-light-up-jacket-running-messages-futurefashion-led-catwalk-technology-future

Making a Statement, Literally, with LED Clothing

There are already shirts, dresses, jackets, etc., that can be connected to smartphones to display text and messages from social media. At sporting events, concerts, trade shows, and other events where people need to share messages (“I <3 Dr. Bulb,” for example), LEDs can now transform anyone and everyone into a walking message board.

Imagine a model casually walking through a convention center with an LED blouse directing potential customers to a particular booth, or another who can display the products a company has to offer. Apparently, LED-lit mouthguards have even made their way into overseas marketing campaigns. With a little creativity, wearable LED technology can be both eye-catching and informative, if not perfect for spreading good vibes at your favorite music festival.

baggage-light-up-led-carpet-future

LED Illumination with Purpose

The future of LED clothing is limited only by the imagination of its designers and users. There are already articles of clothing that change color with the touch of a sensor and others that can get lighter or darker based on how warm it is outside. This is just one way LEDs cleverly merge function with fashion.

In the near future, a runner may be able to don a jogging suit that displays his or her heart rate, hydration rate, blood pressure, etc., on their sleeves. In hospitals, patients could wear sensored clothing that would not only show their vital information, but also alert doctors of an emergency if those vitals start to decline.

taylor-swift-led-fashion-bulb

Big Names in LED Fashion

The LED clothing barrier has already been breached by celebrities such as Katy Perry and Taylor Swift. Tay-Tay (that’s what the kids call her, right?) has in the past adorned herself, her backup dancers, and even the props in their hands with hundreds of LED lights. As the technology becomes more affordable and versatile, we can expect illuminated clothing to be adopted by other celebrities and, maybe, the rest of us, too.

What Do You Think? Would you wear LED clothing? Besides hospitals and athletes, can you think of any other applications for LED clothing? Throw me a few ideas in the comments below!

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General Lighting Future Green Lighting LED

How Many US Navy Sailors Does It Take to Change an LED?

To preserve its status as the world’s best, the US military must remain efficient and keep its maintenance costs as low as possible. There are a number of ways to do this; one they’ve recently discovered is to upgrade and replace outdated lighting sources. Tens of thousands of US businesses and homeowners have already made this shift; now the Navy is climbing on board.

LED Lighting: The Clear Choice for the US Navy

US Naval bases all over the world are currently making the switch from fluorescent lighting to LED lighting. Not only will the LED upgrade make the Navy’s ocean-based operations more environmentally friendly, it will save them a boatload of money as well. In fact, the Navy is projected to save hundreds of millions of dollars over the next several years.

There are a number of other motivations for this historic change. For one thing, the new LED bulbs are far easier to install, replace, and dispose of. They are also cheaper to manufacture and safer to handle during installation and replacement. The intrinsic benefits of LEDs will likely make them the standard lighting choice for all branches of the US military.

US_Navy_lights_to_high_efficient_light_bulbs_dr_bulb
Boatswain’s Mate 2nd Class Kerik Vargas switches his lights to high efficient light bulbs as part of an energy conservation initiative at Commander, Navy Region Hawaii (CNRH).

Navy Ships Receive the LED Treatment

The exciting and revolutionary impact of LED lighting is being realized for naval bases and beyond. After all, we’re talking about the Navy hereno major change would be complete if it didn’t include their world-renowned array of cruisers, destroyers, and aircraft carriers. The Navy will use LED lighting to illuminate not only their bases, but their ships as well.

The payoffs of switching to LED lighting are no huge mystery. The Navy ships that have switched to LEDs have already saved 3% of their yearly energy costsa tidy sum of $150 million. In addition, the new LED lights are expected to last up to 50,000 hours, which is more than seven times longer than the old fluorescent lights. Whether by land or by sea, LEDs have become the preferred lighting choice of the US Navy. What about you?

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General Lighting Future Future of technology LED

The New Longest-Ever “Smart Tunnel” Lit with LED Lighting

LED Tunnel Lighting Comes to Norway Tunnel

LED lighting has reached another milestonethis time in Norway. The newly opened Toven Tunnel in northern Norway has become the longest tunnel to be completely lit by LED lighting. The tunnel, which links the towns of Leirfjord and Vefsn, opened in November of 2014. It is 10.7 kilometers (6.6 miles) in length, surpassing other tunnels lit by LEDs in China, Italy, and the Netherlands.

Tunnel Features Unique LED-Control System

The Norwegian Public Roads Administration (NPRA) made the decision to use LED lights to improve energy efficiency and adaptability. While energy savings are inherent in LED lights, the NPRA also implemented a unique lighting-control system that adjusts light intensity based on the amount of traffic in the tunnel. Since the Toven Tunnel receives a relatively low amount of traffic, this control system is a tremendous energy-saving attribute. Additionally, daylight sensors will regulate the amount of LED lighting at the beginnings and ends of the tunnel (i.e., the lights will dim according to the brightness of the sun), providing a more seamless visual transition for drivers. It is estimated that these measures will save the Toven Tunnel 70% in energy costs.

Dark Tunnel Exit Needs LED Lighting

Savings in LED Maintenance—Improvements in Tunnel Safety

The NPRA will also save on maintenance costs, as the tunnel’s LED lighting will last about 84% longer than traditional lighting. Since fixing lights in a 10.7-kilometer tunnel is a bit more difficult (and expensive) than changing a light bulb at home, LEDs provide the Toven Tunnel a significant advantage.

LED lighting can also have benefits in more heavily trafficked tunnels where the level of lighting needs to be more consistent. Benefits of LED lighting include reduced glare and a better rendering of colors than traditional lighting, allowing drivers to better see the objects around them. This will likely increase comfort for drivers and reduce the number of accidents.

The issue of LED lighting in tunnels has become so popular that it will be the theme in the first ever Road Tunnel Lighting Conference. The conference will take place in Barcelona on October 8th and 9th.

“Now that there are self-adjusting tunnel lights and plans for smart, interactive highways, do you think the future of transportation is getting safer or more complicated? Are these innovations necessary?” –Dr. Bulb