Lighting with Wireless Communication Achieves a Human-centric Intelligent Light Environment

With the rapid development of lighting technology in recent years, various types of energy saving LED fixtures have entered public spaces. These LEDs are rich in color and easy to dim, and offer an unprecedented evolution in lighting to meet people's diverse application needs.

In the past, lighting control was mostly to setting the color temperature and illumination according to the needs of the space. Most of traditional lighting designs can only provide a single or specific lighting effect, and the lighting environment of the living area cannot be adjusted manually or automatically to meet the needs of different users. The biggest difference of a smart human-centric lighting control system is that the illumination and color temperature are automatically adjusted and controlled by the users' activities and outdoor lighting for a better lighting environment. If the user is not satisfied with the lighting environment set by the system, manual adjustment is also available. When there is no one indoors, the brightness can be automatically lowered to achieve energy savings.

With the development of technology, lighting is now further combined with wireless communication to develop new services. For example, various lighting fixtures in commercial spaces can be dim controlled to provide different lighting scenarios according to a user's needs. Traditional lighting control methods become more complicated as the number of controlled luminaires increases. Compared with traditional lighting control system, wireless lighting control system can simplify the system and expand the function to meet the requirements of building automation.

With the evolution of wireless communication technology in recent years, low-power and short-distance communication modules such as Bluetooth and ZigBee connect luminaires together. In addition to performing lighting management functions, they can also be equipped with accessories to provide different services and other important tasks for the last mile of the Internet of Things. For instance, with intelligent lighting and indoor positioning technology, the system can provide different light scenarios according to personal preferences for different living environment applications. Sailors used to know the position of ships at sea by looking at the stars. Now a system knows the position of people in buildings by knowing which luminaires they are near.

The use of lights as nodes for indoor positioning has three advantages: absolute coordinate position, unshaded space configuration, and the ability to provide power. Because of the special position of the luminaire on the ceiling, the light control system easily integrates wireless lighting control, wireless positioning, wireless sensing and wireless automatic control functions. By enhancing additional functions, the positioning and sensing information can be transmitted to the system by using the wireless lighting-controlled mesh network and communication nodes installed in each room, as well as the idle bandwidth of the wireless lighting control network. It can reduce the cost and time of system installation, effectively decreasing the cost of system construction, which enables smart lighting systems to be promoted faster and a smarter and more user-friendly life.

Based on IPS information, smart lighting systems can be applied in medical environment to provide comfortable lighting, allowing patients fully rest, reducing light interference in the ward and improving the quality of recuperation. For improved safety, the low-brightness anti-fall lighting control service is activated by sensing a patient's action at night. This balances a patient's safety and visual comfort, preventing falls due to poor lighting or getting up in the middle of the night, affects the sleep and rest of others. With indoor positioning technology, the equipment tracking system can effectively shorten the shift time and working hours of nursing staff.

Special medical fields, such as intensive care units, can apply the nursing lighting control mode. During night care, the light does not interfere with patient rest. In the daytime, the natural light control mode provides different lighting color temperatures over time, simulating sunlight to provide a comfortable lighting environment. At confinement centers, an indoor positioning system can keep abreast of newborns and provide continuous child care.