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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 of technology LED

Tribute to Founding Father of LED: Roland Haitz

The lighting community lost one of its most brilliant minds this past summer when solid-state lighting advocate and researcher, Roland Haitz, passed away in his California home. Haitz was active in the world of light-emitting diodes until his final days, having signed on to work with QuarkStar four years ago, at the age of seventy-six. As an early supporter of LED technology, Haitz predicted that LED lighting would become the technology of choice as materials and methods of production improved. His predictions were so accurate they became known as “Haitz’s Law.”

Paying Tribute to a Mind with Universal Appeal

Roland Haitz worked for decades to bring this innovative lighting technology to the mainstream. His vision was to create a world where traditional lights, like fluorescent and incandescent bulbs, were seen as inefficient, substandard options. Haitz foresaw the global transition to solid-state lighting, long before LEDs began to penetrate the wider lighting market.

At the Strategies in Light conference in 2000, Haitz announced his prediction that the cost per lumen for LEDs would fall by a factor of ten every decade, while the amount of light generated per LED would increase by a factor of twenty. His work also predicted that LED lighting would reach an efficacy of 100 lumens per watt (lm/W) by 2010, with a cool 150180 lm/W efficacy achievable by 2020. Haitz discussed the exciting prospect of super-efficient lighting and the wide range of its possible applications, including LCD backlighting, mobile-phone flashlights, and more, which prompted a surge of investment into LED research.

light emitting diodes

 

A Proper Memorial

Thus far, Haitz’s Law has proved to be infallible, with LED technology advancing past the 2010 benchmark of 100 lm/W. The scope of LED lighting applications has surpassed the already-broad scope Haitz and other researchers foresaw. LED lighting has become integral to the development of technology trends such as visual light communications (VLC), the Internet of Things (IoT), and human-centric lighting (HCL).

LEDs have radiant potential thanks to the advocacy of researchers like Roland Haitz. His work motivated the lighting community to fund the development of more-efficient LEDs, which can now be found in myriad expanding applications. With LED lighting, users can control the intensity, the color, and even the direction of their light sources. With wireless communication devices and VLC, controls can be accessed via smartphone or remote. Light-emitting diode streetlights can be fitted with sensors to relay information about traffic, parking availability, humidity, and air quality. Adaptive LED car headlights can automatically sense approaching vehicles and dim when appropriate.

There is a seemingly endless number of purposes for light-emitting diodes in a variety of emerging technologies. Thanks to researchers like Roland Haitz, the future will certainly be bright—and energy-efficient.

 

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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.

grocery 2 edit

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?

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General Lighting LED

LEDs Give Consumers New Direction with Visual Light Communications

As technology improves convenience and efficiency in practically every facet of our lives, and generations growing up with it becoming the rule—not the exception—it is only fitting that the way we shop also evolves. Besides the internet, shopping has not changed much worth noting, until today. Armed with mobile devices and swipe-ready technology, retailers are eyeing ways to take better advantage of the new digital shop-a-holic.

Follow the Lights

Combining forces with GPS and smartphone technology, visual light communications, otherwise known as VLC, is using LED lights to relay feedback to shoppers and make their experience much more interactive and efficient for both the consumer and the retailer. All the big names are invested in this trend, GE, ByteLight, Philips, and other LED brands are on-board the VLC train.

LED lighting up Aisles

So, it turns out that not only are LED lights the superior light bulb technology, but they are also the preferred method for communication for consumers with smartphones and tablets (smart watches, too). LED technology allows for rapid output of not only light, but also data to receptive devices.

The process involves LED lights flashing patterns to the camera of your devices in a quick succession that is undetectable to the human eye. This method of digital smoke signals is going to make things more seamless for the consumer, it will make Q codes and alike feel archaic.  This VLC technology will also allow for a faster method of using WiFi in the near future, once the demand for it rises.

Essentially, VLC in stores will allow for a much better understanding of customer behavior, the ability to serve them relevant information, i.e. to help find something in their aisle, and offer them more ways to interact with them.

More ways of using VLC

VLC application ideas are only limited to one’s imagination. Even in its most basic form as a more accurate form of GPS, it offers plenty of potential.  Each major company has their own plan about how they want to integrate this LED technology. Philips is using a system to send customers exact location data on items they have listed on their downloadable app. This sharing of information allows for instant offers or coupons for nearby items located in their aisle. It is like driving around town with your GPS telling you about the store across the street having a big sale or searching for stores in realtime that have an item in-stock that you are looking for.

We are sure that within the next year, you will have this seamless level of access to the things that you want, know where to find it, and know what other deals on the same item are nearby, so that you spend less time getting lost and more time buying what you want. This is a win-win for retailers and consumers everywhere.

The best part about LED lights sending data via VLC? It costs zero dollars to invest in this technology for stores who already use LED lights in their stores. Just imagine, that beaming data to smartphones can really make navigating airports and numerous venues quick and painless.  We can’t wait.

This is the stuff that truly feels like we are finally entering the future of convenience technology.  We are essentially meeting and surpassing those sci-fi depictions of how the future might look for shopping and getting around.

It is actually kind of funny now, thinking about all those futuristic movies where the tension elements are usually scrambling against the clock to locate and get precious resources, but they usually lack accurate devices to track something as small as a bag of Fritos™ on a shelf. That is a sign that we have finally made it.