Effective collaboration begins with a common language By Jonathan Weinert
20 key IT terms that every lighting specifier should know Lighting designers and specifiers have had a tough time over the last 15 years. First, around 2004, LED luminaires that were powerful and high-quality enough for general illumination began to appear. Because of their flexibility and energy efficiency, they soon replaced conventional luminaires in many lighting applications. For the first time since the introduction of fluorescent light in the 1930s, lighting designers had to learn how to evaluate and specify an entirely new kind of light source. New form factors, unfamiliar photometric measurements, differences in light-loss factors and efficacy, disruption of the standard relationship between power consumption and light output—these were only some of the challenges that LED lighting posed for designers and specifiers.
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As if these disruptions weren’t enough, connected lighting came along a short ten years later. Today, connected luminaires are effectively computers, able to gather and share data about themselves and the illuminated environment. Lighting specifiers who want to keep up-to-date with the latest digital innovations now need at least a basic understanding of computer networking and information and communications technology, as well as of new concepts such as the IoT, indoor location services, and digital twins. The following are 20 key terms and definitions that every specifier, designer, and architect involved in designing connected systems should know.
_1_ connected lighting system A lighting system that doubles as a pathway for data and services, delivering both illumination and other data-enabled capabilities.
_2_ connected lamps and luminaires LED lighting fixtures with on-board electronics and two-way data communications, allowing them to share data about their status and operations.
_3_ Internet of Things (IoT) The interconnection of smart devices embedded in everyday objects, enabling them to collect and share data. Connected lighting systems are an example of the IoT. Sensors, luminaires, and other devices in a connected lighting system can collect and share data about themselves and their environments.
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_5_ IP addresses Unique numerical labels assigned to devices in a computer network. In a connected lighting system, IP addresses uniquely identify connected luminaires, allowing each light point to be individually located, monitored, and managed.
_6_ sensors Devices that detect events or changes in the environment. Sensors can track light levels, temperature, humidity, occupancy, motion, and much more. Sensors embedded in connected luminaires allow the lighting system to gather and share data about the illuminated environment for business and operational insight.
_7_ drivers In computing, a driver is a computer program that operates or controls a specific device connected to a computer. In lighting, a driver usually refers to the power supply or power stage built into a luminaire.
communications protocols A system of rules and formats for exchanging data and messages. Common examples are TCP/IP, HTTP, FTP, SMTP, BACnet, and DALI.
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_8_ Power-over-Ethernet (PoE) A system that provides both electrical power and data over a single Ethernet cable. Some connected LED luminaires are PoE-enabled, so they can be powered without the need for standard electrical wiring.
_9_ network switch Hardware that connects devices on a network. An IT network often uses many network switches to connect computers, printers, and other devices together. Connected lighting systems also use network switches to connect LED luminaires for sending and receiving data.
_10_ gateway In computer networking, a gateway translates between two network zones or components that use different communications protocols. In a connected lighting system, a gateway can be used to connect luminaires to controllers and/or to a software lighting management platform.
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_11_ wireless communications Connected lighting systems can make use of several different types of wireless communications for control and data exchange with connected luminaires, sensors, and other connected devices. These include Bluetooth, WiFi, and Zigbee, which are often used in combination.
_12_ indoor navigation An “indoor GPS” that makes use of an indoor positioning system to deliver indoor location services such as wayfinding, finding meeting rooms and colleagues in an office, personal couponing in retail shops, and asset tracking in warehouses. A connected lighting system can host an indoor positioning system using VLC, location beacons, WiFi, or a combination.
_13_ visible light communications (VLC) A technique that uses the natural flicker (modulation) of LED light —which is too fast for the human eye to see — as a communications medium. In a connected lighting system, VLC can be used (sometimes alongside Bluetooth or WiFi) to create an indoor positioning system with sub-meter accuracy.
_14_ machine-to-machine (M2M) Technology that lets devices exchange information and perform actions without requiring the assistance or intervention of humans.
_15_ artificial intelligence (AI) The simulation of human intelligence by machines—learning, reasoning, selfcorrecting, and so on. Examples include speech recognition, problem-solving, forecasting, and planning. Systems that employ AI, like Siri and Nest, use data collected over long periods of time to learn how to anticipate and automatically satisfy users’ needs.
_18_ data lake A centralized repository, often in the cloud, where enterprises can store all structured and unstructured data at any scale. Running analytics on this data—using methods such as dashboards, visualizations, big data processing, real-time analytics, and machine learning—can guide better decision-making.
_19_ data-enabled services Capabilities provided digitally to users on demand regardless of location. Data-enabled services pull data from data lakes (repositories), often stored in the cloud, to give users a rich, intelligent, and highly personalized experience
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digital twin A digital representation of a physical thing or a physical space. A 3D digital twin can be used to effectively to visualize the operations and current status of systems and activities in a smart building, for example.
application programming interface (API) APIs are software libraries (routines, data structures, object classes, and variables) that specify how software components interact with each other. Developers can use APIs to create apps that extend the capabilities of a software program or system such as a connected lighting system.
_17_ cloud services Cloud service providers share resources, software, and information to computers and other devices over a network (typically the Internet), in the same way that a utility, such as the electric company, provides electricity over a power grid. Cloud computing shares resources to achieve reliable service at low prices. LUMINOUS 2019/23
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