LpS 2017 Fulfils Its Potential to be the Most Comprehensive, International Event in Lighting to Date

The delegation, including representatives from giants such as Samsung, Toshiba, Dyson, Bluetooth SIG, Philips, Osram and Nichia came from all over the world for three unforgettable days.

With over 100 lectures, given by the world’s most prominent and admired experts in lighting, the delegation was guided through, and educated in, the very latest developments in technologies, markets and lighting.

Over the three day event, the prominent topics rose to the surface and they permeated the speaker sessions, workshops and the networking discussions on the exhibition floor.

Light Quality is Still Paramount
Against the backdrop of the innovative, next generational smart lighting concepts, the subject of light quality took a leading role at LpS 2017. With all the developments in technologies and the subsequent arrival of new applications, lighting is racing ahead into its future, a future that is being conceptualised and realized simultaneously. Several speakers delivered a note of caution to the crowds. We can build this future for lighting, but we must not forget the spectrum of LEDs still requires considerable work. How can we create the optimal lighting solution if we are focused on the end results speed to be realized, not the quality of it and its value?

Miniaturization Will Have a Massive Impact
The integration of light within the world of computer technologies has been a leading trend in the light sector since the introduction of LED and OLED technologies. Experts shared their thoughts on new approaches to miniaturization of control electronics by high-frequency circuits, the adoption of OLED lighting and the potential of miniaturization in both the light source, the drivers and the electronics required to power them. The events content covered the central building blocks of lighting systems from the component or materials right the way through to the application, and it explored the changes, and challenges, being brought by the miniaturization revolution.

World Leaders Make it Personal
The prominent trends of Connected Lighting and Human Centric Lighting were explored by the keynote speakers. Akshay Thakur of CISCO took us all inside the smart digital buildings of the present and of the future, showing the potential of the IOT today and tomorrow. Jan Denneman, Vice President of Philips Lighting and President of The Global Lighting Association shared the road map for the lighting industry, created by the lighting industry. In his address to the audience he stressed that to deliver this road map; we must change our approach. That “the industry focus must change to people, not cost reduction”. Bringing the keynote sessions to a close, the world’s foremost expert in Solid-State Lighting, Fred Maxik, seconded this and added to it by questioning the very heart of the issue, stressing that we are, in fact ‘light centric humans’. This philosophical, scientifically backed statement, left attendees to debate the question; is light not ‘life’ itself and is the industry responsible for shaping this future ‘life’?

Award Winners Announced
The very best technology, product, equipment or service in the field of Solid-State Lighting was honored with the LpS Technology Award 2017. ams AG with their product AS7221 Tunable White IoT Smart Lighting Manager was the winner. The AS7221 is a controls IC that exhibits various functions in a small footprint, making it highly innovative. The combination of a tri-stimulus sensor with a UART bridge to the IoT infrastructure for building smart lighting systems is an especially unique feature. In combination with its competitive price point, this IC can have considerable impact on the market; fostering the development of cost effective smart lighting systems.

The Scientific Paper of the Year
The LED professional Scientific Award was awarded to the best scientific paper. The winner was Dr. Ekaterina Nannen from the NanoEnergieTechnikZentrum (NETZ) at the University of Duisburg-Essen. In her paper, Ekaterina Nannen deals with alternative techniques for light generation. Combining Light Emitting Electrochemical Cells (LEC) with quantum dots, her work has a notable degree of novelty. Starting from the current state-of-the-art of LEC, the author describes the modification using quantum dots and its effect. Experimental setup and results are described and discussed. Although quantum efficiency is quite low in the current state of fundamental research, the paper generated an important impact on further research and development.

The future of Lighting Needs You. Join us 25 - 27 September, for LpS 2018
LpS 2017 supported attendees in asking poignant questions of lighting and its future. If we are living in a connected world, are the ‘smart’ lights we see and use really clever, or have we sacrificed spectral quality development for the perceived value of this connectivity, and its imagined potential? For the next generations of lighting concepts to succeed, a holistic approach between technology and the system is required, but how? If we as an industry have a responsibility to the future wellbeing of humans, which direction should our research and development take?

“LpS 2017 was a huge success and we will continue to grow the event to meet the needs of delegates, exhibitors and the lighting industry and research as a whole. This year highlighted the need for us to all come together, to share ideas and to support each other because the future of lighting, and its impact on the world, is bigger today than ever before.” Siegfried Luger, Event Director

Join us in exploring these points and many others on 25 - 27 September 2018 at LpS 2018.