The future of lighting at electronica 2014

Lighting and LED technology is going to be a hot topic at electronica 2014, the 26th international trade fair for electronic components, systems and applications. The event will be held from 11-14 November at the Messe München trade fair centre.

The event will feature experts from nearly all consumer segments and user industries - from automotive and industrial electronics to embedded, wireless, medical electronics and MEMS.

With the second phase of EU Regulation 1194/2012 on stricter guidelines for light bulbs and high-voltage and low-voltage halogen lamps going into effect on 1 September 2014, there will be new regulations on energy-efficient lighting technologies in 2015. These requirements are not just coming from the officials: in the automotive sector in particular, manufacturers are looking for alternatives that are more productive. That is why modern LED technologies will be one of the most important topics for the more than 2600 exhibitors at electronica 2014.

Lecture series

The event will feature lectures about trends in lighting technology. Dr Joseph Niemela from the Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP) in Trieste, Italy, will hold a keynote on the topic on 13 November. Immediately after the address, there will be a panel discussion with prominent international speakers. Technical directors and engineers will also exchange ideas and information about the most important electronics trends in solid-state lighting.

Automotive conference

Besides the forum and the exhibitors’ stands, experts at the electronica automotive conference will talk about automotive lighting. Dr Wolfgang Huhn from Audi will deliver the keynote and Thomas Fröhlich from Automotive Lighting will make a presentation on the electronics-related demands in exterior lighting solutions. Dr Wolfgang Pohlmann from HELLA KgaA will talk about innovative lighting for automotive applications and the challenges they present.

Components

While the forum and the conference focus on theory, exhibitors’ presentations are more application oriented. This year, TDK is putting its money on miniature thermistors. They ensure a constant flow of electricity so that the LEDs have a stable supply voltage. Besides thermistors, TDK is also presenting the EPCOS CeraDiode, a small surge protector for LED systems, at electronica 2014.

OSRAM Opto Semiconductors is also presenting several new developments in the automotive, consumer, industry and general lighting segments. It is focusing on increasingly compact components that are no larger than the light-generating element itself.