Smart Lighting 1.1 – LED lighting manufacturers have developed Internet of Things (“IoT”) platforms for intelligent lighting

Some LED lighting manufacturers have developed Internet of Things (“IoT”) platforms for intelligent lighting in order to both advance lighting control and reduce the “silo effect” often evident within many modern buildings.  For example, a single occupancy sensor can be used for lighting control, HVAC control and room status/reservation.  Further, the IoT platform can be used to integrate the data from a number of sensors to provide a holistic view of what is happening within a particular space.

IoT platforms that have been, or are being, developed around the luminaire include:

• Gooee – Though Gooee is not a luminaire manufacturer, it is closely aligned with Aurora Lighting.
• Signify (formerly Philips) – The InterAct IoT platform was launched at the 2018 Light+Build show in Frankfurt.
• Osram – its open IoT platform “Lightelligence” was also launched at the 2018 Light+Build show in Frankfurt and provides clients with a “full stack” turnkey IoT solution that can be applied within many industries.

These platforms all require the ability to communicate with the cloud (i.e., to upload data for analytic platforms (data converted to actionable information) and down load for luminaire control purposes – on, off, dim, etc.).

Whilst none of these platforms are currently available in South Africa, it is just a matter of time before the functionality that these platforms provide will be demanded by public and private organisations in South Africa as these organisation demand access to the benefits of IoT.