Eyesafe, UnitedHealthcare Vision and TÜV Rheinland Group announced the dates and registration details as well as the initial lineup of companies and thought leaders participating in the Blue Light Summit 2020. This year’s event will be held on Oct. 15, 2020. Due to global travel restrictions and safety considerations related to the COVID-19 pandemic, this year’s summit will be conducted virtually. People interested in attending can register here.
The Blue Light Summit 2020 brings together world leaders from consumer electronics and health care, and is open for registrants including employers, health care providers, media and the public. Featuring Dell, HP, Lenovo, Acer and ZAGG Brands (among other global technology leaders), the virtual event will include new product and solution introductions and discussions by health care professionals about the connection between screen time, blue light exposure and overall health — an issue of growing importance with the widespread shift to remote learning and working amid COVID-19.
Presented by UnitedHealthcare Vision, TÜV Rheinland Group and Eyesafe, the Blue Light Summit 2020 will include an eye doctor roundtable discussion on the health impacts of blue light exposure and multiple newsworthy announcements relating to advances and new product solutions spanning electronics, health care and vision insurance. In addition to leading device manufacturers and health care experts, the event will include presentations by Gene Munster, Managing Partner at Loup Ventures and Frank Azor, Chief Architect of Gaming Solutions at AMD.
Joining this year’s summit will be UnitedHealthcare, a leading health and well-being company serving more than 20 million people enrolled in vision plans.
“UnitedHealthcare Vision is focused on supporting whole-person health by helping encourage eye health for the millions of members we are privileged to serve through employer-sponsored, individual and government plans,” said John Ryan, General Manager, UnitedHealthcare Vision. “With people of all ages spending more time using digital devices, this year’s summit and recent innovations related to blue-light blocking technology take on added importance for employers, eye care professionals, educators and consumers.”
The announcement of the Blue Light Summit follows the release of the Screen Time 2020 Report, which includes survey results from employers and vision care providers related to screen time and blue light exposure. The Screen Time 2020 Report revealed that 94% of eye care providers surveyed are “very concerned” to “somewhat concerned” about the impact of digital device screen time on their patients’ eyes; and over 77% of employers are “somewhat” to “very concerned” about the impact of digital device screen time on their employees’ eyes and health.
Importantly, the average number of hours people use digital devices has grown significantly, especially as more employees work remotely and distance learning becomes more common for students. In the United States, a recent Nielsen study estimates that people spend an average of more than 13 hours per day on digital devices amid the global pandemic.
At the Blue Light Summit 2020, global brands in consumer electronic will be unveiling new hardware and aftermarket solutions that protect users’ eyes from harmful blue light emissions. Brands planning on unveiling the next generation of products that have met the Eyesafe certification – the world’s most advanced low blue light standards for eye safety and color performance – include Dell, HP, Lenovo, Acer, and VisionGuard screen protection from InvisibleShield.
Dell is announcing their participation in the Blue Light Summit 2020:
“Dell has a long history and commitment of being at the forefront of new technology and product innovation,” said Darrel Ward, Senior Vice President, Client Product Group, Dell Technologies. “With our XPS, Alienware and G Series lines, we were the first global PC brand to have product lines meeting the Eyesafe Display certification in the marketplace.”
“As screen time increases with millions of people around the globe transitioning to distance-learning and work from anywhere, it is imperative that the consumer electronics industry be proactive in providing consumers options to help them manage blue light display levels. There is nothing more important to Dell than the comfort and well-being of our customers, and that’s why we’ll continue to introduce low blue light technology across our consumer and commercial products,” added Ward.
HP is announcing their participation:
“As PCs are increasingly essential for e-learning, work, and entertainment in 2020, there is also an increased focus on health and wellness by our customers with particular concern around exposure to blue light emitted from our electronics,” said Kevin Frost, Global Head and General Manager of Consumer, Personal Systems, HP Inc. “We are excited to offer a variety of laptops across our consumer and gaming platforms later this year into 2021 with the Eyesafe Display certification and look forward to sharing more during Blue Light Summit 2020.”
Lenovo is announcing their participation:
“Lenovo is highly aware that currently, both individual and collaborative productivity have faced unprecedented challenges, with work-from-home and e-learning policies being widely implemented for the foreseeable future,” said Stefan Engel, Vice President and General Manager of the Lenovo Visuals Global Business Unit. “Seeking out monitors with the requisite technology to make remote working and learning healthier to our users, it’s crucial to meet the Eyesafe Display Requirements to reduce eye strain and the potential health problems from extended usage.”
“The more we know about the systemic health impacts related to blue light exposure, the more we are committed to ensure our products are addressing the health concerns connected with the consequences of high-energy visible blue light. We are aiming our product solutions to become strain-free, to minimize the impact of potential headaches, to promote better sleep, and to ensure a healthier working-learning-environment for our users. The 2020 Blue Light Summit gathering of global consumer electronics leaders is an ideal way to draw attention to this important health safety issue,” added Engel.
“As the world’s leading PC brand, Lenovo has always attached great importance to customer-centric product innovation and committed to continuously providing products with best user experience to our customers. It is well known that this year’s epidemic has brought an unprecedented impact on the global economy as well as the entire market. It has also changed the way people live and work. Learn from home and work from home have become normal, and consumers are more dependent on PCs, which has led to higher requirements for PC experience,” said Jun Ouyang, Vice President and General Manager of the Lenovo Consumer PC Business Unit.
“We quickly seized opportunities in the market to create products that better fit the actual needs for customers. A better visual experience is one of the key contents. We’ve been working closely with TÜV Rheinland for a long time. Last year, we got the world’s first TÜV Rheinland Eye Comfort certificate for notebook. This year, we got the TÜV Rheinland Eyesafe Display certificate for our products. We are more than happy to participate in this year’s Blue Light Summit and announce this news. In the future, we’ll continue innovating and providing customers with safer and greener consumer products,” added Ouyang.
Acer is announcing their participation:
“Screen time has become an essential part of modern lifestyles as users spend increased amounts of time in front of their displays. We’re excited to offer Eyesafe Display-certified models across our monitor portfolio that reduce the amount of potentially harmful blue light emitted,” said Marc Ho, Senior Director of Product Management, Digital Display Business, Acer Inc. “Acer is committed to innovation and bringing new technology that enhance the experience and the wellbeing of our users, and we’re looking forward to seeing what the 2020 Blue Light Summit will bring to the industry.”
InvisibleShield, a ZAGG Brands company and the leading global innovator in screen protection, which has been manufacturing products that minimize exposure to high energy visible blue light since 2018, is also announcing their participation:
“InvisibleShield is an industry leader in promoting digital wellness,” said Chris Ahern, CEO for ZAGG Brands. “Through our partnership with Eyesafe, the world’s leading screen time safety company, our products protect consumers from the harmful blue light coming from their mobile devices without changing the screen colors or peak resolution. As mobile devices continue to play a central role in our lives, and with screen time on the rise, we are proud to provide our customers with products that not only protect their mobile devices from damage, but also minimize the blue light we understand to cause digital eye strain.”
TÜV Rheinland Group is sponsoring the Summit for the second year:
“This year we are pleased to see that many major players on the global landscape are coming together to discuss important issues related to blue light and taking action. We believe we are on the verge of major change across the entire electronics industry and TÜV Rheinland is pleased to be playing such a pivotal role at the intersection of technology and health.” said Kalyan Varma, Vice President of TÜV Rheinland, Business Field Electrical.
The Eyesafe Display Standard is an industry-leading set of requirements available for manufacturers across the digital display industry. The panel makers that have certified their products by TÜV Rheinland to meet the Eyesafe Display requirements include BOE, AUO, Innolux, TCL CSOT, Wistron, and IVO. They collectively account for the majority of the world’s display manufacturing for desktop monitors, all-in-one personal computers and laptops.
Eyesafe is pleased by the participation of major health and technology industry leaders:
“The Blue Light Summit 2020 fosters cross-industry dialogue where leaders from health care and technology come to discuss the issue and learn about the new products, programs and solutions that address one of the most pervasive issues of modern times: blue light,” said Justin Barrett, founder and CEO of Eyesafe, a global leader in advocacy, standards and technology solutions for blue light management and color performance.
The Blue Light Summit 2020 will address the issue and global challenge for the technology industry related to growing prevalence of screen time, high-energy blue light exposure and industry solutions to encourage safety. Those interested in attending the Blue Light Summit 2020 should register at BlueLightSummit.com. There is no cost to attend.
About Eyesafe
Eyesafe is the worldwide supplier of Eyesafe® technology, Eyesafe® display, and Eyesafe® standards, a suite of pioneering products and services that are shaping the consumer electronics industry’s understanding of device usage, screen time, and the impacts of blue light-emitting devices. Eyesafe® technology and the associated intellectual property portfolio was developed by a world-class team of eye doctors, engineers and scientists with decades of experience in electronics, display materials, and light management. Headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Eyesafe works to develop technologies and standards in conjunction with leaders in healthcare. Supported by the Eyesafe® Vision Health Advisory Board, the Eyesafe Display requirements are based on the growing body of research for blue light exposure and the consumer electronics industry’s requirements for accurate color performance.
About TÜV Rheinland
TÜV Rheinland is a global leader in independent inspection services, founded nearly 150 years ago. The group maintains a worldwide presence of more than 20,000 people; annual turnover is EUR 2 billion. The independent experts stand for quality and safety for people, technology and the environment in nearly all aspects of life. TÜV Rheinland inspects technical equipment, products and services, oversees projects, and helps to shape processes and information security for companies. Its experts train people in a wide range of careers and industries. To this end, TÜV Rheinland employs a global network of approved labs, testing and education centers. Since 2006, TÜV Rheinland has been a member of the United Nations Global Compact to promote sustainability and combat corruption.
About UnitedHealthcare
UnitedHealthcare is dedicated to helping people live healthier lives and making the health system work better for everyone by simplifying the health care experience, meeting consumer health and wellness needs, and sustaining trusted relationships with care providers. In the United States, UnitedHealthcare offers the full spectrum of health benefit programs for individuals, employers, and Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries, and contracts directly with more than 1.3 million physicians and care professionals, and 6,500 hospitals and other care facilities nationwide. The company also provides health benefits and delivers care to people through owned and operated health care facilities in South America. UnitedHealthcare is one of the businesses of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH), a diversified health care company.
