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General Lighting LED Technology wireless technology

Spooky Lighting to Make Your House the Best in the Neighborhood

With modern advances in LED lighting, your Halloween decorations will no longer be limited to carved-out pumpkins; no more will your neighbors mock your sad, flickering candles; and never again will you embarrass yourself with green glow sticks tied halfheartedly to your front porch. LEDs can make sure trick-or-treaters will run to your door, either dazzled by cool and classy lights or downright terrified by your spooky LED display.

LED Lightstrips Sync with Doorbell

Technology now offers you the ability to change the lighting on your front porch each time someone rings the doorbell. From a distance, your porch will look fun and inviting, but as soon as someone rings the bell, the LEDs will switch to a horrifying blood-red glow straight out of Nightmare on Elm Street. Or, you can surprise them with my personal favoritea vile, nauseating, green hue. On Halloween night, what more could you ask for?

Flameless Candles for Pumpkins

The flicker of a candle inside a carved pumpkin has been a mainstay in Halloween decorating for decades. However, they really aren’t the best option available. For one, keeping an open flame out on your porch presents an obvious fire hazard—especially on a night when kids are running up and down your porch for hours. There are pumpkin-lighting precautions you can take, but the risk will always be there. They also tend to fall over and burn out before the night is up. Instead, choose battery-operated, flameless candles with a long battery life. These flameless candles give the illusion of a flickering candle flame without the fire danger.

Halloween-House-led-lighting-effectsMusic and Lighting Create a Spooky Union

This Halloween season, consider creating a truly spooky scene in your yard with bulb and speaker combinations (it’s not too late!). Synchronize the lights with a scary Halloween playlist using programs such as Pulse that allow you to sync with Pandora or Spotify. The bulbs can brighten and darken in time with the music, creating a scary scenario in front of your house. Choose channels like Pandora’s “Spooky Symphony” for some interesting special effects using LED lighting. If you prefer a more fun light show, you can always go with singing pumpkins or cartoon monsters performing popular Halloween music such as “Monster Mash” or “Thriller.”

If you’d rather not compete with your neighbors’ music, you can always check out the LED LightShow Fire and Ice lighting available at Home Depot. Or, see if you can get your hands on Satechi’s remote-controlled LED light strip and change the colors of the lights whenever you want.

Whether you plan a fun, whimsical Halloween décor for this year or prefer the dark, scary version, LED lighting offers a wide range of options for decorating. Much safer than candles and brighter than glow sticks, LED lighting is one of the best choices for your front yard; it can provide safety and attention-grabbing decorations throughout the season. Happy haunting!

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General Lighting Future of technology LED wireless technology

LEDs in Cars Will Communicate via the LiFi Lighting Network

Usually, when I talk about LED light bulbs, I focus on their luminary benefitshow they offer some of the most natural and most energy-efficient lighting solutions available today. However, I sometimes overlook the totally geek-out-worthy fact that LEDs are able to serve as communication points, too.

But . . . who cares?

I’m so glad you asked! One of the reasons this is so exciting for me (and you), is that LEDsinstalled in streetlights, vehicle headlights, and street signscould someday create an interactive and real-time network of devices that tells drivers everything they could need to know before (and during) their time on the road. LEDs will no longer just improve visibility for drivers at night; they may also improve driver safety with their network capabilities.

AUDI-HEADLIGHTS-FUTURE-LED-LIFI-COMMUNCATION

Cars Connect Through LED Lights

Automobiles can now be fitted with LED headlights instead of traditional halogen lights. As I’ve discussed in past articles, LEDs can allow for wireless communication via LiFi (not to be confused with WiFi). LiFi uses the visible light spectrum (VLC) to transmit data, transforming LED light into a sort of bridge between devices. So, if your car has LED headlights or taillights, you could soon be driving a mobile data-transmission node!

Multinational technology giant Intel has been conducting research and development with the VLC since 2008. Engineers are now working on a system that would use a series of rapid pulses of visible light to relay information from one car to another. The pulses would not be visible to the human eye but could relay information about traffic conditions. Such information would increase the data available for a semiautonomous or autonomous driving system. The system would have access not only to the information picked up by the vehicle itself, but to information from other cars on the road as well.

Communication Occurs over the Visible Light Spectrum

Because LED technology communicates over the visible light spectrum, communication is limited to line of sight (including reflection). This can be a drawback where inclement weather or ambient lighting can interfere with the LED pulses. But the drawback is also an advantage. Communication over the VLC means that your car will communicate with other cars nearby to recognize immediate (and oncoming) hazards. By contrast, radio frequency communication provides a lot of excess data or “noise” that can drown out the important information a driver needs to make a split-second decision and prevent an accident. So far, the United States has recorded over 19,000 traffic-related deaths in 2015 alone; LED technology could save lives by alerting drivers of dangerous situations before it’s too late.

street-lights-lamps-led-connect-lifi-network-futureThe Street Grid as a Giant Broadcasting Network

As I mentioned earlier, LED headlights can be used for more than just car-to-car communication. LED light bulbs are also being installed in equipment such as streetlights and traffic lights. So, in the future, your LED-lit car may not just be communicating with other cars, but also with a complex mesh of devices on the street grid! As LED light bulbs become more widespread and their technology continues to develop, they will not just help us see—they will give us the data we need to safely and consciously navigate the roads.

Real-World Impact—What Do You Think? 

Do you think LiFi really help make our roads safer? Respond below…I would love to hear from you!

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General Lighting Future wireless technology

For Paris Metro Stations, Lifi is the new Wifi

You’ve heard of WiFi, but have you heard of LiFi? LiFi is an emerging technology which would essentially move the internet out of your router, and into your light fixtures. This fast-developing optical wireless communications technology could help increase the capacity of wireless data networks, and provide some promising benefits along the way.

What is Li-Fi?


Wireless fidelity
, or WiFi, uses UHF and SHF ISM radio bands to allow wireless devices to exchange information. LiFi is a very similar concept, except it uses the visible light spectrum, or VLC,  to transmit data. The lighting spectrum is 10,000 times larger than the radio frequency spectrum, which would add an enormous boost to the size and speed of wireless communication capabilities. LED technology has brought the idea of LiFi closer to reality, due to it’s superior controllability and reliability.

lifi
LiFi may soon have its first broad application in a surprising place: the Paris Metro. The Metro has a quarter of a million lights in its 302 underground stations and its 66 commuter rail stations. Currently, the lights are being replaced with LEDs as part of a $12 million effort to upgrade the system and make it more energy efficient.

The timing of this project is fortuitous. While other subway systems are looking into costly upgrades to provide WiFi in their tunnels, the Metro has the advantage of piggybacking onto the current lighting upgrade. The manager for the light replacement project has confirmed that since June, the Metro has been looking at the feasibility of taking advantage of the project’s timing to install LiFi technology in the Paris Metro.

LiFi does have its limitations. Most notably, VLC has a much shorter range than the radio spectrum. The visible light spectrum also cannot transmit through walls or other barriers.

These disadvantages, however, can be turned into advantages. In a confined space such as the Paris Metro, passengers do not have to worry about range limitations or WiFi dead spots. The signal will be available wherever visible light can reach. The space limitations of LiFi can also enhance user security because hackers are not able to access the signal from remote places.

doctor hospital

LiFi can be used in other applications, such as secure facilities, where the only users accessing the signal are the ones that are already inside. LiFi can also be used in electromagnetic sensitive areas such as hospitals or airplanes.

As LEDs continue to increase in popularity on the market, the cost of installing LiFi can potentially be folded into the expenses already incurred in upgrading lighting infrastructure. The Paris Metro project would be the first example of a large scale public use of LiFi. If successful, it may provide the blueprints for others to upgrade to this promising technology.

 

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General Lighting Future of technology LED wireless technology

New LiFi LED App Illuminates the Future of Shopping

While strolling the aisles of the Carrefour supermarket in Lille, France, supermarket shoppers may be unaware that they are able to participate in a technological revolution known as LiFi. The supermarket has installed an LED lighting system that beams promotional specials and location information directly to in-store consumers via their smartphones through VLC technology. Invisible to the human eye, the LEDs transmit a digital code via light waves and provide merchants with a viable, more accurate option than the Bluetooth-based beacons.

Beyond Illumination

The intent of the LiFi system is to assist and track consumers as they move throughout the retail establishment. The LED lighting system has the capacity to broadcast up to 10 gigabits per second. Carrefour executive Celine Martin asserts that the new technology will provide consumers with a more pleasant shopping experience, allowing them to find the promotions and products they desire, in a more efficient and effective manner. For instance, you would no longer need to search up and down for that particular brand of soda that grandma likes—now you can simply ask your phone which aisle to find it in.

The technology, developed by Philips, is a non-invasive and cost effective application. The LED system requires only 50% of the electricity that is used by traditional lighting systems. Each of the specially designed LiFi lamps broadcasts a unique, distinct code throughout the store. Consumers are informed of the LED system and are able to open an “app,” on their smartphone, then point their smartphone upward towards the overhead LED lighting. The LiFi system is then able to get a fix on their location, within an accuracy of three feet and can determine the direction the consumer is facing.

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Better Than Beacons

The LiFi LED lighting system is similar in nature to GPS-based maps and is comparable to WiFi based location systems, though location data through LiFi has proven to be more accurate than WiFi. Most retailers have been employing Bluetooth beacons as a less expensive option to investigate and engage a trial run of similar type systems, rather than invest in full the cost and labor required to replace an existing in-store lighting system. However, replacing the lighting system with LED would still provide the same long term ROI due to their increased efficiency. Additionally, the beacons require users’ phones to have Bluetooth capabilities turned on and be compatible with the latest Bluetooth standard.

Davies Murphy Group technology analyst, Chris Green believes that merchants should consider the LiFi LED lighting system as a long-term investment, which provides them more beneficial options as opposed to the beacon system. While they may be cheaper, to implement a Bluetooth beacon system with a similar level of accuracy would require a multitude of beacons strategically situated throughout the establishment and support current Bluetooth technology.

Still not convinced the use of VLC is the coolest thing since sliced bread? Do you think it would make your shopping experience more convenient? Worried about invasions of privacy? Watch the video and tell us what you think!

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General Lighting Fixtures Future Future of technology Internet of Things IoT Technology wireless technology

Lighting Networks Could Make For a Wonderful Tomorrow

We are barreling head first into the next generation of the internet. After ecommerce, social media and the cloud, connecting everything is the obvious next step. The trend has been called the “Internet of Things”, or IoT. The connected devices can be as simple as sensors and security cameras or as complicated as vehicles and production machinery. Bosch Software Innovations expects before 2022 there will be 14 billion connected devices.

The Internet of Things

IoT refers to the network of objects embedded with electronics, software, sensors and the capability to connect which are able to exchange data. Generally, the capability is used to communicate with manufacturers, operators, or other devices. For instance, Ford, is working to create cars which are able to “sense” one another and their outside environments, thereby preventing collisions due to operator error.

The term “the Internet of Things” was coined in 1999 by Kevin Ashton. It is expected that, as wireless technology  continues to advance, the interconnection of embedded devices will allow for automation in nearly all fields. In fact, the automation industry already depends heavily on IoT technology. New applications for IoT innovations are being developed every day, and it appears that lighting may play an important part thanks to VLC.

Visual Light Communication, or VLC, can best be explained with a metaphor: imagine using a flashlight to send a message using morse code. Turning the flashlight off and on at specific intervals expresses the message. VLC works much the same way, except that the light transmits the message via flickers which occur so quickly, our eyes can not perceive them.

Given that our cities, homes, cars and cell phones are brimming with usable light, it makes sense that researchers would seek a way to combine efficient lighting technologies with the communication requirements of an IoT world. Streetlights can be fitted with sensors which are able to monitor urban environments. With their height and numbers, streetlights could be highly effective at detecting air particulates and providing important ecological data about the quality of a city’s air.

Have you ever had trouble finding a parking space in the city? Streetlights could help with that problem, too. Siemens has developed a system whereby sensors would detect cars, motorbikes or even motorcycles that are parked illegally and send an automatic signal to the authorities. Now, pair that same technology with a smartphone app and you have a system that can tell you where the open parking spots are and if they are even big enough for your car.

In Newark Airport, a wireless network of lights has already been implemented which is able to monitor the movement of people and vehicles. This enables the airport to observe traffic and travel patterns, predict outages or delays with higher accuracy, and send marketing promotions. Mostly, the system is used for security and maintenance purposes. Apparently it’s still not good enough to replace the lengthy pat-downs at security, though.

IoT and VLC have more attractive, less Big Brother type applications as well. The Philips Hue LED bulb is capable of communicating with your television set. Once synced to your TV, the bulbs will flash, pulse, dim or change color in accordance with what is happening onscreen. Imagine watching that action film on a big screen, with surround sound, and bright flashes of light every time something explodes on screen. Who needs movie tickets when you have an immersive theater at home?