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Trends & Technologies for Future Lighting Solutions
ISSN 1993-890X
Review
LpR
Mar/Apr 2017 | Issue
60
Research: Roadway Lighting & Perovskite Nanocrystals
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Applications: SSL Horticulture & Animal Farming
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Technologies: Thermal Management & Smart Lighting
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TTB: Dr. J. Norman Bardsley
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CATEGORY EDITORIAL
Multi-Connectivity It’s a well-known fact that connectivity is one of the major aspects of Solid-State lighting systems. Nowadays, a stand-alone is not enough because of the various, new functionalities that are continuously added to systems based on information distributed through the Internet gathered from sensors outside of the lighting world in buildings or from data stored in a cloud. Lighting system manufacturers face difficulties when asking clients, experts and users what kind of interfaces should be integrated and provided in their products. In order to understand what they are faced with let’s have a look at some of the key interfaces: DALI is described as a protocol for communications and the control of lighting equipment. The controller can monitor and control each DALI gear by means of a bi-directional data exchange. The DALI protocol permits devices to be individually addressed and it also allows multiple devices to be addressed simultaneously via multicast and broadcast messages. DALI 2 expands from Control Gears to support Control Devices (push buttons, presence detectors and light sensors). ZigBee is a wireless technology developed as an open global standard to address the unique needs of low-cost, low-power wireless M2M networks. The ZigBee standard operates on the IEEE 802.15.4 physical radio specification and operates in unlicensed bands including 2.4 GHz, 900 MHz and 868 MHz. The specification is a packet-based radio protocol intended for low-cost, battery-operated devices. The protocol allows devices to communicate in a variety of network topologies and can have battery life lasting several years. Smart Mesh specification is defined by the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) to enable an interoperable mesh networking solution on the Bluetooth Smart (BLE) wireless technology. The Smart Mesh overcomes range limitation by creating a mesh network and its specification is defined to support Bluetooth Smart specification versions 4.0 and beyond. All three of these lighting communication interfaces are designed for dedicated purposes and have strengths and weaknesses, depending on the application. New systems should cover all the interfaces at once because it can’t be predicted where the system will be installed and what the user will need to control and connect with the lighting system. Multi-connectivity seems to be a major trend for new lighting solutions. It eliminates the need for gateways and transfers the complexity to the luminaires or drivers as part of the lighting system. This, of course, will increase the complexity of the hardware and software of future lighting systems, but the multi-faceted lighting market, with all its different standards, interfaces and applications needs, cannot be limited to a One-Only approach. Multi-connectivity is a major challenge for developments, products, testing and maintenance but I believe it to be the winning strategy and trend. For more information on this subject, see the article by Dr. Kyeongik Min of Samsung Electronics. It’s just one of many thought-provoking articles in this edition of the LpR. Have a good read. Yours Sincerely,
Siegfried Luger
Publisher, LED professional Event Director, LpS & TiL
© 2017 Luger Research e.U. | Issue 60