Will networked lighting be the killer app for IOT?

There has been a lot of discussion and extensive experimentation on the Internet of things, but so far there has been no killer application that has made demand soaring, prices down and spawned a range of applications". But there are signs that, although it may seem strange, connected lighting may be such an application...

There is a saying: by 2020, the Internet of things (IoT) is expected to cover 20~50 million devices. It is believed that the Internet of things will be ubiquitous, affecting almost every aspect of modern life. So far, the Internet of things has been interesting, but it has not been able to predict explosion in the market by professionals. There are not enough cases of obvious economic interest to boost animal market self reinforcing market growth.

The industry has made progress in reducing its link costs, but progress has been slow enough in response to a growing demand and a corresponding large fall in production prices, a chain reaction that has contributed to the actual market taking off. Hundreds of billions of devices are expected to serve such a wide range of applications that the single run scheme will not be able to achieve the required amount of significant production cost efficiency. What is needed now is a single application that may itself generate billions of devices.

Following, networking lighting.

Artificial lighting (Artificial lighting) has been used for thousands of years; electrical lighting began in 1880. Today, the earth, each and every country, almost every city, town and village has some form of electrical lighting, but the traditional incandescent lamp is high, and the cost of energy gradually rise, prompting industry and government to seek alternatives to low power consumption. The compact fluorescent bulb (CFL) is the first result, but it turns out that LED is a logical successor.

But Silicon Labs, senior vice president and general manager of networking products Daniel Cooley pointed out in an interview that: LED lighting technology increasingly successful, is for the ensuing networking lighting pave the way. The key is that LED vendors have to learn how to integrate electronic components in bulbs and how to reduce costs. "Once that happens," says Cooley, "adding more chips makes it easier to create an intelligent, cost-effective and luminous electronic product."."

Will networked lighting be the killer app for the Internet of things?

Cooley adds that the business model that adds networking technology to lighting has already had a positive rate of return on investment. Government mandated reductions in energy consumption are a factor, and if you can control the light bulb itself, it will be easier to meet standards. If the light itself can be switched off in the room (or even corridor), or through remote control of the mobile application, it can significantly reduce energy consumption.

Networked lighting eliminates the need to connect the light switch directly to the luminaire. This not only reduces most of the wiring required, but also simplifies building electrical design while providing installation flexibility for fixtures and switches.

But low cost is not the only potential benefit of networked lighting. Light bulb vendors can integrate Bluetooth beacons into the bulb, providing a quick and easy way for retailers to simply set up location services by replacing bulbs. The color and brightness of networked lighting can be set up, and home owners and car dealers and restaurants can control their ambience.