Project description
Tvilight CitySense Tvilight, a Dutch technological start-up company based in Groningen, recently introduced CitySense, a plug-and-play integrated wireless sensor to control existing as well as new street lighting fixtures. The CitySense offers ‘on demand lighting’ in which lighting levels adjust based on the presence of pedestrians, bicycles or cars. The lights ‘dim’ during off-peak hours when there is no one in the vicinity and upon detection of a human presence, all the streetlights in the surrounding area ‘glow’ to a user defined brightness. This results in substantially reduced energy consumption in a safe and comfortable manner. The watertight casing as well as the mounting aspects of this innovative product are developed by BPO. During the development I was the project leader. At the starting point of the project only the angle of the lenses and their position in space was known. With this information we started to design the casing and develop solutions for the connection to the lamppost, the mounting and size of the electronics and the way to get the module watertight. The connection to the lamppost is a challenge in its own as the module needs a solid and level base while lamppost are never completely straight. To be able to counter the various levels of skewed lampposts, we developed an innovative waterproof ball hinge which also serves as the entrance for the power wires from the lamp post. Because of this hinge the base can be put at perfectly level during installation before all the electronics are connected. The intricate electronics for detection and wireless communication inside the module demand shielding from fingers and tools during installation. The inner skeleton part not only provides this shielding, it is also the part to which all the electronics are connected. Instead of using screws all the PCB’s click to this part to make the assembly easier. All the clickers and wire routers are constructed in such a way they do not require sliders in the mould. Due our professional approach during the development and the sourcing of the right manufacturer for the plastic parts could start in record time. I was project leader for the development and engineering of the watertight casing. Together with the engineering I also sourced the production of the various parts of the casing. When the first parts came in they were ready to be assembled. No changes to the moulds were made after the FOT’s.