LED community gathers in San Diego

San Diego, US, will be the temporary home of many major players in the solid-state lighting industry this week as two conferences and exhibitions roll into town.

For Matthew Hidderley and Eve Gaut representing the Photonics Cluster (UK) and Aston Science Park's marketing and communications team, it's the perfect opportunity to gauge the market and see how UK businesses can exploit any emerging trends and commercial opportunities. 

First, over 500 delegates and 80 exhibitors are expected at LEDs 2008 which is billed as the "world's most compelling business meeting and exhibition dedicated exclusively to the high-brightness LED industry". The event runs from September 29 through to October 1 and will bring together players at every level in the food chain to discuss technology developments and emerging revenue streams.

Hot on the heels of this event comes LEDs Measurement and Standards 2008, which will deal with controversial questions such as a common way of measuring quantities such as lifetime and efficiency. No doubt there will be a lot of discussion on October 2 and October 3 as to the best way forward for the industry. Everyone knows that standards are essential to promote wider adoption of LEDs, but finding the common ground isn't easy.

Matthew and Eve will be attending both of these events and sharing their findings on the www.optics.org/blog/leds_2008/ blog. It will be a busy and fascinating week but the long-haul flight from the UK will be worth it to hear about new markets, short and long-term opportunities and technical breakthroughs.