In 2012, the LED output value has had a good performance compared to the same period in 2011. In Taiwan alone, LED factory generated total revenues of approximately NT$9.267 billion for January-October 2012, a growth of 16.8% over the same period last year.However, oversupply pressure in many LED manufacturers have generated more and more strategic alliances and mutual shareholding to develop longer-term opportunities. The future role of LED manufacturing plants will not just chip or component suppliers; most of them will also be end products providers at the same time.ProLight Opto has been dedicating their R&D in high-power LEDs and modules for a long time. In recent years they have introduced a series of important products in the areas of lighting sources. For example, the ProLight Opto Phoenix series has passed the IES LM-80 test, which is under the standard specified by the US Energy Star (ENERGY STAR) for solid-state lighting (SSL) luminaires and light source specifications for LED packaging/module/array. In addition, ProLight Opto develops different dimensions of the COB (chip on board) package products, ranging from 10 to 400 watts, and they can be applied to a wider combination of lighting applications.With more than 20 years of experience in the LED industry, ProLight general manager Xing Chen Zhen Lun said, "ProLight specializes in packaging in the lighting field. Our products can be divided into three categories to serve customers. They are medium-power, high-power and higher-power packages. Medium-power products are 0.2 to 0.5 watts, high-power products are 0.5 to 5 watts, and products more than 5 watts are 'higher power' products." ProLight medium-power products can be used in general household lighting bulbs, and general lighting applications. ProLight is also able to develop high-power products up to 400 watts, reducing the number of light sources needed while maintaining the same brightness, so it can reduce the cost of lighting applications.In recent years, the displays backlight market is seeing a decline in demand, a lot of Taiwan-based LED packaging and module factories have just moving into the filed of LED lighting. Unlike other LED manufacturers ProLight Opto have been specializing in lighting applications since the beginning and are capable of offering total lighting solution to customers. They are able to provide matching drivers, optics and mechanical assembly to their LEDs and LED module in order for customers to reduce time in product development. Furthermore, The LED products of ProLight Opto often need to endure harsh environments like in outdoor lighting applications, therefore the company have dedicated its efforts on new technology development, product reliability and diversity. In the LED packaging field, although most LED manufacturer concentrate on developing standard products, ProLight with its unique production technology, can deliver shorter production lead-time and with precise color control. In addition, ProLight pride its customized design capability as a distinguished service to downstream manufacturers in order to reduce inventory, while producing diverse lighting products to meet market demand.In response to market trends, ProLight Opto will gradually include more LED module products into its product portfolio. For example, it uses different materials such as glass embedded LEDs to achieve multiple color changes. Furthermore, China recently launched the general working plan for saving energy and reducing emissions under the 12th Five-year Plan, and industries related environmental protection are expected to receive development opportunities. In the program, it clearly indicate that it is essential to promote energy-saving appliances and lighting products, which means that the LED lighting market will be given greater share in both residential and commercial lighting applications.ProLight with its unique production technology, can deliver shorter production lead-time and with precise color control. In addition, ProLight pride its customized design capability as a distinguished service to downstream manufacturers in order to reduce inventory

Samsung Electronics on November 22 unveiled Galaxy Camera, a bridge camera equipped with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean and 3G/Wi-Fi connectivity for editing and sharing photos/video, for immediate online pre-order in the Taiwan market at a recommended retail price of NT$16,900 (US$579).Galaxy Camera features a 16-megapixel 1/2.3-inch BIS CMOS image sensor, 21x optical zoom (23-483mm), a 4.8-inch 308ppi HD Super Clear LCD touch screen, dimensions of 128.7 (W) by 70.8 (H) by 19.1 (D)mm and a weight of 305g.In addition to conventional retail sales, Galaxy Camera will also be available for sale at a subsidized price of NT$9,900 bundled with a 3-year contract through Chunghwa Telecom (CHT) at a monthly rate of NT$850, Taiwan Mobile (TWM) at NT$699 and Far EasTone Telecommunications (FET) at NT$775.Samsung Electronics Galaxy CameraPhoto: Company

Global electronic components distributor Digi-Key Corporation, recognized by design engineers as having the industry's largest selection of electronic components available for immediate shipment, today announced the signing of a global distribution agreement with VersaLogic Corporation, a leading manufacturer of embedded computers."The embedded industry continues to evolve with total cost of ownership and extended product life at the forefront. We wanted to offer our customers a premium line of embedded computers that would address this," said Mark Zack, Vice President of Global Semiconductor Product at Digi-Key Corporation. "VersaLogic's high-quality embedded products provide exceptional value to our expansive product offering and we are pleased to partner with them."VersaLogic Corporation provides rugged industrial computers to OEMs for embedded control and industrial control applications. Their COM, EBX, EPIC, EPU, PC/104, SUMIT, and SPX product platforms provide robust, field-reliable products for use in a variety of market applications.These reliable standard and customized embedded computers are backed with unsurpassed service, provide the highest availability in the market, and carefully manage life cycle with judicious design and part selection to eliminate product redesign."The goal for our first move into distribution was to provide design engineers around the world immediate access to select, evaluate and purchase our products online. We were also seeking a distributor who would be reliable for our customers and easy to work with," said Bruce McKinnon, Chief Operating Officer of VersaLogic Corp. "We knew Digi-Key was at the pinnacle of the industry online, but when we discovered the alignment in core values and how easy it would be to work with them, the choice was clear."VersaLogic's products, including single board computers, expansion boards, and accessories, are now available for purchase on Digi-Key's global sites (http://www.digikey.com/).

Electronic engineers and other attendees once again get the chance to get up-close and personal with Digi-Key Corporation at the semi-annual electronica 2012 trade show in Munich, Germany. Digi-Key kicked off its electronica 2012 campaign by holding a pre-event press conference in Munich, Germany. Broadcast online via a global webcast, the event featured Digi-Key executive presentations and a live Q & A session.Digi-Key's booth at electronica 2012 has quickly gained popularity and, once again, the company's booth is a 'must see' destination for conference attendees. With custom Digi-Key slot machines; Digi-Key soccer balls (or footballs); and rare appearances by Marilyn Monroe, Captain Jack Sparrow, and Michael Jackson lookalikes, Digi-Key is hard to miss. Booth visitors can even register to win the grand prize - a custom-painted, Digi-Key red, 662 horsepower, 2013 Ford Shelby GT500 Mustang convertible.The electronica 2012 festivities sponsored by Digi-Key continue to "pop" with a fireworks show on Wednesday and conclude with Digi-Key's Platinum sponsorship of the electronica Student Day, featuring giveaways including two Vespa scooters and eight Asus laptops."Our focus with our electronica initiatives is to network with an ever-growing group of engineers and electronics enthusiasts," said Tony Harris, Digi-Key's Chief Marketing Officer. "We love to interact with our customers, and are always looking for opportunities to introduce ourselves to those unfamiliar with us. From start to finish, we want attendees to leave with Digi-Key on their minds."For more information about Digi-Key's booth at electronica 2012, visit http://www.digikey.com/electronica.Tony Harris, Digi-Key's Chief Marketing Officer

Electronic engineering students will have the chance to get up-close and personal with Digi-Key Corporation during Superstudium - Future Professionals Day, Friday, Nov. 16 at the electronica 2012 trade show in Munich, Germany.Students will learn that Digi-Key stocks more board level components for immediate shipment than any other distributor in the world from more than 650 of the world's leading suppliers of semiconductor, interconnect, passive, and electromechanical products. Digi-Key also provides product information, design support services, technical services, online resources, and more to aid engineering students in their projects."We realize the importance of providing products and information to the next generation of electronic engineers," said Mark Larson, Digi-Key's president and COO. "They will be responsible for the innovations of the future, and we want to pave the way for them by having the product they need, when they need it and giving them the information they require to successfully complete their designs."Starting at 10 a.m., electronic engineering students will have the opportunity to view several presentations and demonstrations at Digi-Key's booth. Additionally, students will have the opportunity to register to win one of two Vespa motor scooters or one of 8 Asus laptop computers.Please see the schedule below for information regarding presentations and demonstrations during Superstudium - Future Professionals Day:- 10-11 a.m.: VDE Cosima Awards Ceremony- 11 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.: Panel discussion on "Careers in the Electronics Industry"- 12:30 p.m. -1:30 p.m.: Networking Lunch with business representatives- 2:30 -3 p.m.: Closing presentations and raffle drawing for prizesFor more information about Digi-Key's booth at electronica 2012, visit http://www.digikey.com/electronica.Mark Larson, Digi-Key's president and COO

After last year's successful Displaying Futures symposium in Tokyo, Merck is holding a second such symposium today at the Xue Xue Institute in Taipei, Taiwan. Together with interdisciplinary experts Merck will look into expanded opportunities for the global display industry.Merck's Displaying Futures symposium aims to explore patterns and create a vital platform with events, publications and workshops to develop future scenarios from the perspective of architects, designers, artists and scientists. The Displaying Futures initiative reflects Merck's ambition to actively shape developments in this sector.The theme of this year's Displaying Futures meeting is "Seamless Transitions - from urbanity to products." Its goal is to demonstrate how ultra-modern communication technologies can be linked in urban spaces, where more and more people are living and will be living in the future."After the first successful Displaying Futures symposium in Japan, we are happy to offer the next such event here Taipei," said Dr. Bernd Reckmann, Executive Board Member responsible for Merck's Chemicals business sector. "As a market leader in the display industry, we have invited participants to come together and think outside the box to develop future applications for this exciting industry.""Merck is trying to initiate a platform to encourage interdisciplinary collaboration. Therefore, Displaying Futures is not just a one-time effort; we will look into potential concepts discussed in the symposium, and hold workshops to further develop them into projects and products. Besides the panel industry, we also believe that the program will drive the development of IT, medical, architecture, and other related industries. Most importantly, future user needs will truly be satisfied as technology product will be closer to humanity. Ultimately this will improve the overall quality of life," explains Dick Hsieh, Managing Director of Merck in Taiwan.For more information please see http://displayingfutures.com/

Maxim Integrated Products recently introduced Zeus, an advance in integration and security protection for the smart grid. Zeus is a complete smart-meter system-on-a-chip (SoC) that offers highly accurate metrology, multiple layers of security, and processing horsepower for advanced communication protocols.As smart meters become more connected, the need for security is paramount to protect against energy theft and cyber attacks on the grid. Zeus provides meter manufacturers with a platform for development in multiple end markets, supporting a wide range of security and communication requirements. A built-in cryptographic module secures communication; a secure bootloader prevents unauthorized firmware modification; and tamper detection assures providers that any attempts to physically attack the meter will be detected, recorded, and reported.According to Maxim, some of the key advantages of Zeus include strong metering accuracy based on multiple ADC channels that each run at 10ksps, offering 0.1% accuracy over a 5,000:1 dynamic range; future proofing to support future applications based on its processing foundation of a 120MHz ARM Cortex M3 application processor and a 40MHz, 32-bit MAXQ30 microcontroller with DSP support for the metering function; while its multicore architecture also supports WELMEC separation of legally relevant and irrelevant functions to ease validation.

Memoright, a Taiwan-based developer of SSD (solid-state drive) technics, will showcase its ruggedized and industrial storage solutions at Eletronica 2012 (Hall A6 #168) in Munich, Germany from November 13 to 16, 2012. Featured ruggedized and industrial storage solutions, including the new released QuadLife-25, M1500 eMMC and the whole series of MLC wide temperature ruggedized SSD solutions will be unveiled to meet the needs of low power consumption, wide temperature, long life cycle, cost efficiency and high performance SSD solutions.Memoright's new eMMC solution M1500 series applies latest eMMC 4.5 standard. The standard upgrade gives the M1500 series a huge leap in data transmission speeds – from 52MHz to 200MHz. Also, the sequential read and write performance has been accelerated.With exclusive patent of firmware algorithm, Memoright's QuadLife 2.5-inch SSD solution sharply raises the read/write times to up to 20,000 times, four times more than current MLC SSD solutions. Moreover, all the flashes inside Memoright's solutions have been authorized to ensure the quality. It can remain the full function from minus 40-degree to 85-degree Celsius. Wide temperature endurance and cost efficiency make Memoright's MLC solutions a perfect option for IPC.Memoright's ruggedized and industrial SSD solutions are well recognized for their stable performance and advanced life cycle. They are widely used by European and American military units, air and maritime transportation system, photographic equipments of Hollywood movies. All the solutions from Memoright have passed strict wide temperature and SPOR (Sudden Power off Recovery) tests to ensure the efficiency, stability and reliability.Memoright eMMC M1500Photo: Company

Nowadays, digital signage is everywhere. It has become a popular marketing tool which can provide real time information, advertising and messages in rich multimedia formats to attract consumers. Interactive digital signage allows consumers to interact with the signage to enhance customer engagement and in-store sales. Among all public places, shopping malls are one of the ideal venues to utilize interactive digital signage.Application RequirementsSince this interactive digital signage was to be deployed in a mall where it is crowded and noisy, the digital signage monitor had to be large enough, with good image quality, to draw people's attention. Moreover, fast, yet accurate touch responses were also required to build a reliable interactive interface. Lastly, the signage had to be rugged enough to withstand constant use and interactivity. Thus, reliability and longevity were key.SolutionsAdvantech DSD-3032 and ARK-DS520 were selected for the application. DSD-3032 provides 32" large format monitors supporting 1366 x768(HD) resolution and unparalleled image quality with configurable I/O. Unlike commercial grade monitors, the 32" digital monitor is designed with a metal frame and is fanless. Moreover, DSD-3032 is equipped with optical multi-touch solution which provides accurate 2-point touch with 4 mm tempered glass and anti-glare feature. Its versatile signal interface including HDMI, DVI, and VGA offers customers a wide range of signal options. The monitor also provides RS-232 and RS-485 for OSD (On Screen Display) remote control. Finally, DSD-3032 is fully integrated with ARK-DS520 providing our customer with a total solution for their digital signage applications.Benefits:- Optical multi-touch solution- Wide viewing angle of 176°/176°- Versatile signal interfaces of HDMI/DVI/VGA- Wall mount solution with 200 x 200 mmDSD-3032 provides 32" large format monitors supporting 1366 x768(HD) resolution and unparalleled image quality with configurable I/OFinding more case study articles

Kaohsiung Medical University Chung-Ho Memorial Hospital (KMUH) was established in 1957. In its initial phase it had 350 beds which have since grown to over 1,600. KMUH was the first hospital in Taiwan to receive accreditation by the Ministry of Education and the Department of Health for its role as a "first class teaching hospital." The hospital has also been certified by the Ministry of Finance for its "good accounting records." Today, as one of the most important medical institutions in Taiwan, the hospital is chartered with teaching, research and administration of medical treatment.In 2007, the government issued a mandate that all medical facilities move to adopt an electronic medical record (EMR) technology to improve patient care, reduce errors, and increase hospital efficiency. KMUH began looking for technology that would integrate with their existing infrastructure. It needed to work on existing medical carts in the hospital, connect to the hospital's information. The hospital implemented a solution using RFID technology and medical-grade terminals to trace and manage medical systems (HIS) using an existing wireless infrastructure, and scale up to support nearly 200 units throughout the facility.SolutionAdvantech's POC-S176 Slim Point-of-Care terminal was chosen by the hospital. Internal IT staff purchased the terminals directly from Advantech and then set out to replace the paper-based system with a modernized EMR solution. They broke the project into two phases, the first to implement 100 units and the second to implement an additional 86 units. IT Manager, Zhang Hao Zi was charged with designing the solution. He understands of the needs of the hospital and is the designer of the hospital's existing intranet. "After strict research for a product that met our specifications for a computerized medical cart, we decided to implement Advantech's POC-S176 throughout the hospital. Advantech has a good reputation for stability, and they were very cooperative with us in this opportunity. "The POC-S176 terminals were placed on existing medical carts for use in hospital rounds, wards, and patient areas, and used as free-standing units in the ICU. There were some challenges faced along the way, the most critical of which was interoperability with existing wireless infrastructure. With Advantech's experience, a customized POC-S176 terminal was designed to meet the unique requirements of the hospital's wireless LAN topology.SystemAdvantech's POC-S176 terminal has a slim design and a 17" TFT-LCD display. The units are powered by IntelR Core Duo 1.66/1.2 GHz or IntelR Core2 Duo 1.5 GHz processors. The fanless design, IP54 rating and IP65 dust-tight front panel meet the hospital's requirement for a medically-certified device that doesn't take up a lot of space on the carts. The POC-S176 terminals fit perfectly into the hospital's environment: they are quiet in operation, don't accumulate dust, and are easy to keep clean. 802.11 wireless antennas connect the terminals to KMUH's information systems allowing real-time data entry and doing away with the previous, paper-based system.BenefitsAchieving the goal of an EMR is important to the hospital. As a training hospital, KHUH is charged with the education of future medical personnel. Early compliance with the government's EMR mandate improves the hospital's ratings and draws more students to the facility. The new terminals provide several key benefits:- Increased efficiency eliminates need to record data on paper and re-key later- Reduction in errors via a real-time connection to HIS improves accuracy- Compliance with government mandate establishes an EMR- Higher rank and more students further enhance hospital's reputationAdvantech's POC-S176 Slim Point-of-Care terminalFinding more case study articles