The “Internet of Light” – the key to the “Internet of Things”
The Internet of Things is the next industrial revolution. As a specialist for innovative lighting components and systems, Tridonic is convinced that lighting will play a decisive role in the Internet of Things (IoT). Therefore, Tridonic developed the toolbox net4more which will not only connect luminaires with each other, but deliver a value add that goes far beyond lighting. Where do we stand today?
Sometime in 2016 the number of connected devices will overtake the number of people on the planet for the first time. According to calculations by Gartner, the US market research company, last year around five billion devices were able to communicate via the Internet – whether smartphones or tablets, smart electricity meters, cars or factory machines. In 2016 the figure is expected to rise to between seven and eight billion. That's more than the 7.4 billion people currently living in the world. Analysts are already talking about 24 to 35 billion connected devices by 2020. This Internet of Things is expanding at the rapid pace of more than 40 percent per year. Market researchers from BI Intelligence expect total expenditure on hardware, application development and system integration to reach 6,000 billion dollars in the next five years.
The Internet of Things is booming because of the large number of applications and the added value for users. Smartphones can be used to shop online, check in for a flight or find your way round an unfamiliar city. Electricity meters automatically send energy consumption data; traffic lights, washing machines, cars and trains all give early warnings that they need servicing, and pc boards in factories tell assembly robots which components they should pick.
But quantity brings complexity. The problem is already obvious – just look at any modern office: in addition to smoke detectors and thermostats there are often numerous presence sensors from different manufacturers for the different building services. One ensures that the light is only switched on if there is someone in the room. Another is part of the security system, a third turns down the heating and air conditioning when the last person leaves the room, and perhaps a fourth is there to control the window blinds.
Light as the omnipresent infrastructure
Simplification is what is needed. How can the level of complexity best be reduced, how can communication among the devices be harmonised? Are there no existing infrastructure systems to which the Internet of Things can simply be “docked”? In fact, there are. Wherever there are people, whether indoors or out on the streets, there is artificial light. In many of these luminaires there is still plenty of space for one or other digital sensor or microchip – after all, digital electronics is necessary for modern LEDs.
What's more, since the luminaires need electricity the power supply is already integrated, so to speak. No one need worry any longer about cabling the individual sensors or changing batteries, which they would otherwise have to do every year or two or even more often – which in large buildings means a lot of work. What's more, luminaires are mostly installed on walls or ceilings and therefore in the best places for including sensors. And communication with them and connection to the access points for the internet can be either wireless or via the data cabling that is already in place anyway.
In short, the existing infrastructure for light is the ideal basis for the Internet of Things. Or to put it another way, the “Internet of Light” is the most powerful instrument for developing the Internet of Things into the useful tool that it can be in the future.
Here are some examples: A single presence sensor integrated out of sight in a luminaire is sufficient for detecting whether an office is occupied or not. This data is then stored in the Cloud – in other words on an Internet or intranet server – evaluated and forwarded to the HVAC systems, window blinds, security management system and of course to the lighting control system