2013-04-18

Ahead of Lightfair 2013

I'll be heading to the world's largest lighting show next week. Tell me what to look for while I'm there.

Lightfair, the architectural and commercial lighting tradeshow and conference, is the event around which lighting suppliers -- large, small, and startup -- plan their announcements. The show is gearing up to welcome 23,000 attendees and more than 500 exhibitors this year.

I have seen plenty of press releases in advance of Lightfair, and they will guide my initial plans. Here are some of the companies and the developments and products they have announced.

• Philips (booth 1401): We discussed the company's 200lm/W breakthrough on Wednesday. (Philips Lumileds sponsors this site.) I'll be looking out for this high-efficacy TLED prototype -- and much more besides.
• Daintree (booth 3151): We offered a quick look at the company's ControlScope Manager software, a controller for ZigBee (802.15.4) mesh networks, in our profile of a Massachusetts manufacturer's lighting makeover on Tuesday. I hope to get a more in-depth look at this commercial smart lighting software and to explore Daintree's work with Marvell on an integrated wireless LED driver.
• Evolucia (booth 3925): This first-time Lightfair exhibitor will launch seven product lines at the show, including one for high-performance LED lamps.
• Anaren (booth 3754): Another first-time exhibitor, this company is moving strongly into LEDs from its base of RF technology for space, defense, wireless infrastructure, and consumer electronics applications. Anaren will be demonstrating TI ZigBee Light Link based on its Anaren Integrated Radio (AIR) modules.
• Other startups: The must-sees include Bridgelux (booth 2611), which calls itself "the only vertically integrated LED manufacturer/developer of SSL sources that designs its solutions for the lighting industry," and Soraa (booth 4047), which is working with a GaN-on-GaN process that it says yields LEDs of extremely high brightness.

In addition, I'll certainly pay visits to the other big names in LED lighting: Acuity (booth 801), Cree (booth 833), GE (booth 2101), and Samsung (booth 2645).

What other news, announcements, or buzz have you heard in advance of Lightfair 2013? What should I absolutely not miss?

If you'll be at Lightfair, please leave a comment below (or drop me an email, if you don't want to be so public). Perhaps we can meet up.

Related posts:

• When Will LEDs Replace Office Fluorescents?
• LED Retrofit Saves Manufacturer an Easy 40%

— Keith Dawson , Editor-in-Chief, All LED Lighting