Determining light settings based on a generated image

Abstract

A method of determining light settings based on an image and controlling one or more lighting devices located in an environment according to the light settings comprises obtaining (101) one or more static parameters which are indicative of one or more colors, obtaining (103) a textual description describing an environmental context of the environment, generating (105) an image based on the one or more static parameters and the textual description, determining (107) the light settings by extracting colors from the image, and controlling (109) the one or more lighting devices according to the light settings.

Description

[0001] DETERMINING LIGHT SETTINGS BASED ON A GENERATED IMAGE

[0002] FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0003] The invention relates to a system for determining light settings based on an image and controlling one or more lighting devices located in an environment according to said light settings.

[0004] The invention further relates to a method of determining light settings based on an image and controlling one or more lighting devices located in an environment according to said light settings.

[0005] The invention also relates to a computer program product enabling a computer system to perform such a method.

[0006] BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0007] Certain lighting control apps like the Philips Hue app offer a wide selection of light scenes and allow users to search for light scenes using keywords. Lighting control apps may not only offer static light scenes, but also dynamic light scenes. Furthermore, the lighting control app may allow a light scene to be generated from an image selected by the user. For instance, WO2021 / 144232 Al describes extracting multiple colors from an image, selecting a subset of these colors based on a target time of day, and generating light settings based on the selected subset of colors. Thus, the same image results in different colors when a different target time of day is specified.

[0008] Once a light scene has been added to a user’s lighting system, when recalling a light scene, the light scene always stays the same, as it is defined as a fixed set of colors. Dynamic scenes are similar in that the same fixed palette is used. If users want a different light scene, they could search in the scene library or search for an image that could represent the desired scene. In both cases, the different light scene will again be limited to a fixed color palette.

[0009] SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0010] It is a first object of the invention to provide a system, which can be used to control one or more lighting devices to render variations on a selected light scene. It is a second object of the invention to provide a method, which can be used to control one or more lighting devices to render variations on a selected light scene.

[0011] In a first aspect of the invention, a system for determining light settings based on an image and controlling one or more lighting devices located in an environment according to said light settings comprises at least one transmitter and at least one processor configured to obtain one or more static parameters, said one or more static parameters being indicative of one or more colors, obtain a textual description describing an environmental context of said environment, generate an image based on said one or more static parameters and said textual description, determine said light settings by extracting colors from said image, and control, via said at least one transmitter, said one or more lighting devices according to said light settings.

[0012] By generating an image based on the one or more static parameters and the textual description and determining the light settings by extracting colors from the image, it is possible to take advantage of advances in the area of automatic image generation, e.g. generative artificial intelligence. The image generation may be performed by using a Generative Adversarial Network (GAN) or Stable Diffusion, for example. The at least one processor may be configured to add the textual description to a prompt provided to an LLM (large language model) to generate the image. For instance, a 2D or 3D spatial lighting pattern may be extracted from an image generated based on a user input (such as a keyword, color palette) and a current time-of-day. In this case, the determined light settings may comprise brighter, cooler colors at noon compared to warmer colors in the evening.

[0013] Said one or more static parameters may comprise an input image and said at least one processor may be configured to generate said image by modifying said input image based on said textual description. Additionally or alternatively, said one or more static parameters may comprise one or more color values and / or a further textual description, for example. The one or more static parameters do not need to explicitly specify the one or more colors. For example, a textual description "sunset atmosphere" is indicative of orange and yellow colors.

[0014] Said textual description may describe time of day, time of year, weather, user activity, and / or persons present in said environment, for example.. Said light settings may comprise static or dynamic light settings. Said light settings may be stored in a light scene, for example. Said light settings may specify a color palette and a distribution of the colors among the available lighting devices. Said light settings may optionally specify how the colors change over time. Said at least one processor may be configured to determine said light settings by determining an array of light settings for an array of light sources, said array of light settings have a lower resolution than said image. Said array may be a one-dimensional, a two-dimensional, or a three-dimensional array. Said at least one processor may be configured to control said one or more lighting devices by controlling a pixelated lighting device according to said array of light settings, said pixelated lighting device comprising said array of light sources.

[0015] Said at least one processor may be configured to obtain information indicative of one or more properties of said one or more lighting devices in said environment, and determine said light settings by extracting colors from said image based on said one or more properties of said one or more lighting devices. For example, said one or more properties of said one or more lighting devices in said environment may comprise one or more types and / or one or more locations of said one or more lighting devices in said environment. For example, (pixel) colors from the generated image may be mapped to light sources by determining (pixel) colors at locations in the image which correspond to the locations of the lighting device(s). When mapping (pixel) colors from the generated image to light sources, it may be taken into account whether a light source is capable of rendering color or white-only, for example.

[0016] Said one or more static parameters may comprise one or more color values to be included in said image and / or one or more color values to be excluded from said image. This makes it possible to include desired colors in the light settings irrespective of the textual description and to exclude undesired colors from the light settings irrespective of the textual description.

[0017] Said at least one processor may be configured to receive a signal indicative of a target impact of said textual description with respect to said one or more static parameters, said target impact being specified by a user, and generate said image further based on said target impact of said textual description. In this way, the user may be able to define how much impact the temporary features of the textual description should have (e.g., how much the determined light settings will deviate from light settings that would be determined when using only the predefined static param eter(s)).

[0018] Said one or more lighting devices may comprise a plurality of lighting devices and said at least one processor may be configured to obtain information identifying at least one of said plurality of lighting devices, a light setting being prescribed for each of said at least one lighting device, and determine said light settings for said plurality of lighting devices such that each of said at least one lighting device is assigned said corresponding prescribed light setting. For example, the one or more prescribed light settings may include fixed colors. Such fixed colors would not be changed based on time or depend on time and enable use-cases where, for example, one of the lighting devices in the room would always stay on the same setting irrespective of scene modification (e.g. reading light), or has a specific preconfigured setting depending on time (e.g. luminaire above dining table), that is not affected by modifications.

[0019] In a second aspect of the invention, a method of determining light settings based on an image and controlling one or more lighting devices located in an environment according to said light settings comprises obtaining one or more static parameters, said one or more static parameters being indicative of one or more colors, obtaining a textual description describing an environmental context of said environment, generating an image based on said one or more static parameters and said textual description, determining said light settings by extracting colors from said image, and controlling said one or more lighting devices according to said light settings. Said method may be performed by software running on a programmable device. This software may be provided as a computer program product.

[0020] Moreover, a computer program for carrying out the methods described herein, as well as a non-transitory computer readable storage-medium storing the computer program are provided. A computer program may, for example, be downloaded by or uploaded to an existing device or be stored upon manufacturing of these systems.

[0021] A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium stores at least a first software code portion, the first software code portion, when executed or processed by a computer, being configured to perform executable operations for determining light settings based on an image and controlling one or more lighting devices located in an environment according to said light settings.

[0022] The executable operations comprise obtaining one or more static parameters, said one or more static parameters being indicative of one or more colors, obtaining a textual description describing an environmental context of said environment, generating an image based on said one or more static parameters and said textual description, determining said light settings by extracting colors from said image, and controlling said one or more lighting devices according to said light settings.

[0023] As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, aspects of the present invention may be embodied as a device, a method or a computer program product. Accordingly, aspects of the present invention may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment (including firmware, resident software, microcode, etc.) or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects that may all generally be referred to herein as a "circuit", "module" or "system." Functions described in this disclosure may be implemented as an algorithm executed by a processor / microprocessor of a computer. Furthermore, aspects of the present invention may take the form of a computer program product embodied in one or more computer readable medium(s) having computer readable program code embodied, e.g., stored, thereon.

[0024] Any combination of one or more computer readable medium(s) may be utilized. The computer readable medium may be a computer readable signal medium or a computer readable storage medium. A computer readable storage medium may be, for example, but not limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. More specific examples of a computer readable storage medium may include, but are not limited to, the following: an electrical connection having one or more wires, a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. In the context of the present invention, a computer readable storage medium may be any tangible medium that can contain, or store, a program for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device.

[0025] A computer readable signal medium may include a propagated data signal with computer readable program code embodied therein, for example, in baseband or as part of a carrier wave. Such a propagated signal may take any of a variety of forms, including, but not limited to, electro-magnetic, optical, or any suitable combination thereof. A computer readable signal medium may be any computer readable medium that is not a computer readable storage medium and that can communicate, propagate, or transport a program for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device.

[0026] Program code embodied on a computer readable medium may be transmitted using any appropriate medium, including but not limited to wireless, wireline, optical fiber, cable, RF, etc., or any suitable combination of the foregoing. Computer program code for carrying out operations for aspects of the present invention may be written in any combination of one or more programming languages, including an object oriented programming language such as Java(TM), Smalltalk, C++ or the like and conventional procedural programming languages, such as the "C" programming language or similar programming languages. The program code may execute entirely on the user's computer, partly on the user's computer, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the user's computer and partly on a remote computer, or entirely on the remote computer or server. In the latter scenario, the remote computer may be connected to the user's computer through any type of network, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or the connection may be made to an external computer (for example, through the Internet using an Internet Service Provider).

[0027] Aspects of the present invention are described below with reference to flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of the present invention. It will be understood that each block of the flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions may be provided to a processor, in particular a microprocessor or a central processing unit (CPU), of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other devices create means for implementing the functions / acts specified in the flowchart and / or block diagram block or blocks.

[0028] These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer readable medium that can direct a computer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other devices to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer readable medium produce an article of manufacture including instructions which implement the function / act specified in the flowchart and / or block diagram block or blocks.

[0029] The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other devices to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer, other programmable apparatus or other devices to produce a computer implemented process such that the instructions which execute on the computer or other programmable apparatus provide processes for implementing the functions / acts specified in the flowchart and / or block diagram block or blocks.

[0030] The flowchart and block diagrams in the figures illustrate the architecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementations of devices, methods and computer program products according to various embodiments of the present invention. In this regard, each block in the flowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portion of code, which comprises one or more executable instructions for implementing the specified logical function(s). It should also be noted that, in some alternative implementations, the functions noted in the blocks may occur out of the order noted in the figures. For example, two blocks shown in succession may, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon the functionality involved. It will also be noted that each block of the block diagrams and / or flowchart illustrations, and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and / or flowchart illustrations, can be implemented by special purpose hardware-based systems that perform the specified functions or acts, or combinations of special purpose hardware and computer instructions.

[0031] BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0032] These and other aspects of the invention are apparent from and will be further elucidated, by way of example, with reference to the drawings, in which:

[0033] Fig. l is a block diagram of an embodiment of the system; Fig. 2 is a flow chart of a first embodiment of the method; Fig. 3 is a flow chart of a second embodiment of the method; Fig. 4 is a flow chart of a third embodiment of the method; Fig. 5 is a flow chart of a fourth embodiment of the method; Fig. 6 is a flow chart of a fifth embodiment of the method; and Fig. 7 is a block diagram of an exemplary data processing system for performing the method of the invention.

[0034] Corresponding elements in the drawings are denoted by the same reference numeral.

[0035] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

[0036] Fig. 1 shows an embodiment of the system for determining light settings based on an image and controlling one or more lighting devices located in an environment according to the light settings. In this embodiment, the system comprises a mobile device 1. The mobile device 1 may be a mobile phone or a tablet, for example. In an alternative embodiment, the system may be a local and / or remote voice-based system, e.g. a smart home control system like Amazon Echo or Google Home. In the embodiment of Fig. 1, the mobile device 1 is able to control lighting devices 31-33 via a (light) bridge 27, e.g. using Zigbee technology. The bridge 27 may be a Hue bridge, for example.

[0037] The bridge 27 is connected to a wireless LAN access point 21, e.g. via Ethernet or Wi-Fi. In an alternative embodiment, the mobile device 1 can alternatively or additionally control one or more of the lighting devices 31-33 without a bridge, e.g. directly via Bluetooth or via an Internet server 25. In the example of Fig. 1, lighting device 31 is a light bulb, lighting device 32 is a table lamp, and lighting device 33 is a light strip. Lighting device 33 comprises a controller 35 and nine individually controllable light sources 11-19. Each light source may comprise one or more light elements, e.g. a direct emitting or phosphor converted LED.

[0038] The mobile device 1 comprises a receiver 3, a transmitter 4, a processor 5, memory 7, a camera 6, and a display 9. The processor 5 is configured to obtain one or more static parameters which are indicative of one or more colors, obtain a textual description describing an environmental context of the environment, generate an image based on the one or more static parameters and the textual description, determine the light settings by extracting colors from the image, and control, via the transmitter 4, one or more of lighting devices 31-33 according to the light settings.

[0039] The image generation may be performed by using a Generative Adversarial Network (GAN) or Stable Diffusion, for example. The at least one processor may be configured to add the textual description to a prompt provided to an LLM (large language model) to generate the image. The one or more static parameters may be obtained when a user selects a static light scene or a dynamic light scene / effect, for example. The one or more static parameters may be part of or associated with the static light scene or the dynamic light scene / effect. Alternatively, the one or more static parameters may be obtained at a different moment. The one or more static parameters may be input or selected via a (virtual) keyboard or via a voice interface (using voice to text conversion), for example. The one or more static parameters may comprise an input image, one or more color values, and / or a textual description, for example. The user may input a further textual description of a desired scene via a voice interface, for instance. The at least one processor may be configured to generate the image based on the textual description and the further textual description. The at least one processor may be configured to add the textual description and the further textual description to a prompt provided to an LLM (large language model) to generate the image. Such LLMs for generating images are known in the art ad will therefore not be discussed in detail. The textual description may describe one or more temporary features, e.g. time of day, time of year, weather, user activity, and / or persons present in the environment. The time of day and time of year may be determined based on a clock of the mobile device (not shown in Fig. 1), for example. Information indicative of the weather may be received via the Internet 23 or from a local weather sensor / station (not shown in Fig. 1), for example. Information indicative of user activity (e.g. reading, cooking, watching TV, eating) and / or persons present in the environment may be received from camera 6 or from a stationary camera (not shown in Fig. 1), for example.

[0040] In the embodiment of the mobile device 1 shown in Fig. 1, the mobile device 1 comprises one processor 5. In an alternative embodiment, the mobile device 1 comprises multiple processors. The processor 5 of the mobile device 1 may be a general-purpose processor, e.g. from ARM or Qualcomm or an application-specific processor. The processor 5 of the mobile device 1 may run an Android or iOS operating system for example. The display 9 may comprise an LCD or OLED display panel, for example. The memory 7 may comprise one or more memory units. The memory 7 may comprise solid state memory, for example.

[0041] The receiver 3 and the transmitter 4 may use one or more wireless communication technologies such as Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11) to communicate with the wireless LAN access point 21, for example. In an alternative embodiment, multiple receivers and / or multiple transmitters are used instead of a single receiver and a single transmitter. In the embodiment shown in Fig. 1, a separate receiver and a separate transmitter are used. In an alternative embodiment, the receiver 3 and the transmitter 4 are combined into a transceiver. Camera 6 may comprise a CMOS or CCD sensor, for example. The mobile device 1 may comprise other components typical for a mobile device such as a battery and a power connector. The invention may be implemented using a computer program running on one or more processors.

[0042] In the embodiment of Fig. 1, the system of the invention comprises a mobile device. In an alternative embodiment, the system of the invention alternatively or additionally comprises a different device, e.g. a bridge, a smart home control system, or a cloud computer (cluster).

[0043] A first embodiment of the method of determining light settings based on an image and controlling one or more lighting devices located in an environment according to the light settings is shown in Fig. 2. The method may be performed by the mobile device 1 of Fig. 1, for example. A step 101 comprises obtaining one or more static parameters. The one or more static parameters are indicative of one or more colors. The one or more static parameters may comprise an input image, one or more color values, and / or a textual description, for example. The one or more color values may be specified per light source and / or per moment or period.

[0044] The textual description may comprise keywords. For instance, the textual description may specify “relaxing nature orange yellow blue sky light happy”. If the user selects a static light scene, the static parameters may include color palette, scene name and associated keywords, for example. The one or more static parameters may comprise one or more color values to be included in the image and / or one or more color values to be excluded from the image.

[0045] A step 103 comprises obtaining a textual description describing an environmental context of the environment. The textual description may describe one or more temporary features, e.g. time of day, time of year, weather, user activity, and / or persons present in the environment. For instance, the textual description may specify “early morning”, “middle of the day”, or “late evening”, for example.

[0046] A priority may be set for each available temporary feature, e.g. by a user or automatically by the system. For example, priorities may be set such that only time of the day is used as temporary feature or such that all temporary features of the textual description are used. The textual description may be collected by a system by using its sensor network and / or may be explicitly given by the user via the (voice) user interface during light scene activation.

[0047] A step 105 comprises generating an image based on the one or more static parameters obtained in step 101 and the textual description obtained in step 103. If the one or more static parameters obtained in step 101 comprise an input image, step 105 may comprise generating the image by modifying the input image based on the textual description. The image generation may be performed by using a Generative Adversarial Network (GAN) or Stable Diffusion, for example.

[0048] A step 107 comprises determining the light settings by extracting colors from the image generated in step 105. The light settings may comprise static light settings or dynamic light settings. In a simple implementation, the (e.g. five) most dominant colors may be extracted from the image in step 107, independent of any location of the one or more lighting devices. A step 109 comprises controlling the one or more lighting devices according to the light settings determined in step 107. For example, step 109 may comprise rendering a static light scene or playing a dynamic light scene / effect (e.g., playing a modified sparkle effect on a Hue Festavia). Additionally, one or more steps of one or more of the embodiments of Figs. 3-6 may be added to the embodiment of Fig. 2.

[0049] A second embodiment of the method of determining light settings based on an image and controlling one or more lighting devices located in an environment according to the light settings is shown in Fig. 3. The embodiment of Fig. 3 is an extension of the embodiment of Fig. 2. In the embodiment of Fig. 3, step 107 of Fig. 2 comprises a step 121 and step 109 of Fig. 2 comprises a step 123.

[0050] Step 121 comprises determining an array of light settings for an array of light sources. The array of light sources may be one-dimensional (e.g. a pixelated light strip), two- dimensional (e.g. a pixelated light panel), or three-dimensional array, for example. The array of light settings has a lower resolution than the image. In the embodiment of Fig. 3, the array of light sources is comprised in a pixelated lighting device. Step 123 comprises controlling the pixelated lighting device according to the array of light settings determined in step 121. Additionally, one or more steps of one or more of the embodiments of Figs. 4-6 may be added to the embodiment of Fig. 3.

[0051] A third embodiment of the method of determining light settings based on an image and controlling one or more lighting devices located in an environment according to the light settings is shown in Fig. 4. The embodiment of Fig. 4 is an extension of the embodiment of Fig. 2. In the embodiment of Fig. 4, step 107 of Fig. 2 is implemented by a step 143 and a step 141 is performed before step 143.

[0052] Step 141 comprises obtaining information indicative of one or more properties of the one or more lighting devices in the environment. The one or more properties of the one or more lighting devices in the environment may comprise one or more types and / or one or more locations of the one or more lighting devices in the environment, for example. The information may be received from the one or more lighting devices or from another device, e.g. bridge 27 of Fig. 1. The one or more properties may further include the effect positions of individual light sources (e.g. derived from location and orientation inputs, or from a room scan).

[0053] Step 143 comprises determining the light settings by extracting colors from the image generated in step 105 based on the one or more properties of the one or more lighting devices obtained in step 141. In step 143, (pixel) colors from the image generated in step 105 may be mapped to light sources by determining (pixel) colors at locations in the image which correspond to the locations of the lighting device(s). When mapping (pixel) colors from the generated image to light sources, it may be taken into account whether a light source is capable of rendering color or white-only. Additionally, one or more steps of one or more of the embodiments of Figs. 3, 5-6 may be added to the embodiment of Fig. 4.

[0054] A fourth embodiment of the method of determining light settings based on an image and controlling one or more lighting devices located in an environment according to the light settings is shown in Fig. 5. The embodiment of Fig. 5 is an extension of the embodiment of Fig. 2.

[0055] In the embodiment of Fig. 5, step 105 of Fig. 2 is implemented by a step 163 and a step 161 is performed before step 143. Step 161 comprises receiving a signal indicative of a target impact of the textual description with respect to the one or more static parameters. The target impact is specified by a user. In this way, the user may be able to define how much impact the temporary features of the textual description should have.

[0056] The signal may be received from a user interface provided on mobile device 1 of Fig. 1, for example. The user interface may allow the user to define the weight for both static parameter(s) and textual description; giving a high weight to the static parameter(s) would lead to only minor differences between the determined light settings and light settings that would have been determined when only the predefined static parameter(s) would be used and therefore selecting the same static parameter(s) multiple times would result in multiple sets of light settings that only deviate slightly.

[0057] Step 161 comprises generating an image based on the one or more static parameters obtained in step 101, the textual description obtained in step 103, and the target impact of the textual description indicated in the signal received in step 161. Additionally, one or more steps of one or more of the embodiments of Figs. 3-4, 6 may be added to the embodiment of Fig. 5.

[0058] A fifth embodiment of the method of determining light settings based on an image and controlling one or more lighting devices located in an environment according to the light settings is shown in Fig. 6. The embodiment of Fig. 6 is an extension of the embodiment of Fig. 2. In the embodiment of Fig. 6, the one or more lighting devices comprise a plurality of lighting device. In the embodiment of Fig. 6, step 105 of Fig. 2 is implemented by a step 183, step 107 of Fig. 2 is implemented by a step 185, and a step 181 is performed before step 183. Step 181 comprises obtaining information identifying at least one of the plurality of lighting devices for which a light setting is prescribed. The information may be configured in the lighting system, e.g. configured in and received from bridge 27 of Fig. 1. The information may indicate the prescribed light setting(s). Step 185 comprises determining the light settings for the plurality of lighting devices such that each of the at least one lighting device identified in step 181 is assigned the corresponding prescribed light setting.

[0059] For example, the one or more prescribed light settings may include fixed colors. Such fixed colors would not be changed based on time or depend on time and enable use-cases where, for example, one of the lighting devices in the room would always stay on the same setting irrespective of scene modification (e.g. reading light), or has a specific preconfigured setting depending on time (e.g. luminaire above dining table), that is not affected by modifications.

[0060] In the embodiment of Fig. 6, the prescribed light setting(s) for the lighting device(s) identified in step 181 is taken into account when generating the image in step 105. Step 183 comprises generating the image based on the one or more static parameters obtained in step 101, the textual description obtained in step 103, and the prescribed light setting(s) for the at least one lighting device identified in step 181.

[0061] Additionally, one or more steps of one or more of the embodiments of Figs. 3- 5 may be added to the embodiment of Fig. 6. In an alternative embodiment, step 105 is not implemented by step 183 and step 185 may then comprise mapping colors extracted from the image generated in step 105 to light sources in such a way that that each of the at least one lighting device identified in step 181 is assigned the corresponding prescribed light setting. In this alternative embodiment, step 181 may be performed between steps 105 and 107.

[0062] Fig. 7 depicts a block diagram illustrating an exemplary data processing system that may perform the method as described with reference to Figs. 2-6.

[0063] As shown in Fig. 7, the data processing system 300 may include at least one processor 302 coupled to memory elements 304 through a system bus 306. As such, the data processing system may store program code within memory elements 304. Further, the processor 302 may execute the program code accessed from the memory elements 304 via a system bus 306. In one aspect, the data processing system may be implemented as a computer that is suitable for storing and / or executing program code. It should be appreciated, however, that the data processing system 300 may be implemented in the form of any system including a processor and a memory that is capable of performing the functions described within this specification. The memory elements 304 may include one or more physical memory devices such as, for example, local memory 308 and one or more bulk storage devices 310. The local memory may refer to random access memory or other non-persistent memory device(s) generally used during actual execution of the program code. A bulk storage device may be implemented as a hard drive or other persistent data storage device. The processing system 300 may also include one or more cache memories (not shown) that provide temporary storage of at least some program code in order to reduce the quantity of times program code must be retrieved from the bulk storage device 310 during execution. The processing system 300 may also be able to use memory elements of another processing system, e.g. if the processing system 300 is part of a cloud-computing platform.

[0064] Input / output (I / O) devices depicted as an input device 312 and an output device 314 optionally can be coupled to the data processing system. Examples of input devices may include, but are not limited to, a keyboard, a pointing device such as a mouse, a microphone (e.g. for voice and / or speech recognition), or the like. Examples of output devices may include, but are not limited to, a monitor or a display, speakers, or the like. Input and / or output devices may be coupled to the data processing system either directly or through intervening VO controllers.

[0065] In an embodiment, the input and the output devices may be implemented as a combined input / output device (illustrated in Fig. 7 with a dashed line surrounding the input device 312 and the output device 314). An example of such a combined device is a touch sensitive display, also sometimes referred to as a “touch screen display” or simply “touch screen”. In such an embodiment, input to the device may be provided by a movement of a physical object, such as e.g. a stylus or a finger of a user, on or near the touch screen display.

[0066] A network adapter 316 may also be coupled to the data processing system to enable it to become coupled to other systems, computer systems, remote network devices, and / or remote storage devices through intervening private or public networks. The network adapter may comprise a data receiver for receiving data that is transmitted by said systems, devices and / or networks to the data processing system 300, and a data transmitter for transmitting data from the data processing system 300 to said systems, devices and / or networks. Modems, cable modems, and Ethernet cards are examples of different types of network adapter that may be used with the data processing system 300.

[0067] As pictured in Fig. 7, the memory elements 304 may store an application 318. In various embodiments, the application 318 may be stored in the local memory 308, the one or more bulk storage devices 310, or separate from the local memory and the bulk storage devices. It should be appreciated that the data processing system 300 may further execute an operating system (not shown in Fig. 7) that can facilitate execution of the application 318. The application 318, being implemented in the form of executable program code, can be executed by the data processing system 300, e.g., by the processor 302. Responsive to executing the application, the data processing system 300 may be configured to perform one or more operations or method steps described herein.

[0068] Fig. 7 shows the input device 312 and the output device 314 as being separate from the network adapter 316. However, additionally or alternatively, input may be received via the network adapter 316 and output be transmitted via the network adapter 316. For example, the data processing system 300 may be a cloud server. In this case, the input may be received from and the output may be transmitted to a user device that acts as a terminal.

[0069] Various embodiments of the invention may be implemented as a program product for use with a computer system, where the program(s) of the program product define functions of the embodiments (including the methods described herein). In one embodiment, the program(s) can be contained on a variety of non-transitory computer-readable storage media, where, as used herein, the expression “non-transitory computer readable storage media” comprises all computer-readable media, with the sole exception being a transitory, propagating signal. In another embodiment, the program(s) can be contained on a variety of transitory computer-readable storage media. Illustrative computer-readable storage media include, but are not limited to: (i) non-writable storage media (e.g., read-only memory devices within a computer such as CD-ROM disks readable by a CD-ROM drive, ROM chips or any type of solid-state non-volatile semiconductor memory) on which information is permanently stored; and (ii) writable storage media (e.g., flash memory, floppy disks within a diskette drive or hard-disk drive or any type of solid-state random-access semiconductor memory) on which alterable information is stored. The computer program may be run on the processor 302 described herein.

[0070] The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. As used herein, the singular forms "a," "an," and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms "comprises" and / or "comprising," when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and / or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and / or groups thereof. The corresponding structures, materials, acts, and equivalents of all means or step plus function elements in the claims below are intended to include any structure, material, or act for performing the function in combination with other claimed elements as specifically claimed. The description of embodiments of the present invention has been presented for purposes of illustration, but is not intended to be exhaustive or limited to the implementations in the form disclosed. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope of the present invention. The embodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain the principles and some practical applications of the present invention, and to enable others of ordinary skill in the art to understand the present invention for various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated.

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. A system (1) for determining light settings based on an image and controlling one or more lighting devices (31-33) located in an environment according to said light settings, said system (1) comprising: at least one transmitter (4); and at least one processor (5) configured to:- obtain one or more static parameters, said one or more static parameters being indicative of one or more colors,- obtain a textual description describing an environmental context of said environment,- generate an image based on said one or more static parameters and said textual description,- determine said light settings by extracting colors from said image, and- control, via said at least one transmitter (4), said one or more lighting devices (31-33) according to said light settings.

2. A system (1) as claimed in claim 1, wherein said one or more static parameters comprise an input image and said at least one processor (5) is configured to generate said image by modifying said input image based on said textual description.

3. A system (1) as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein said at least one processor (5) is configured to determine said light settings by determining an array of light settings for an array of light sources (11-19), said array of light settings have a lower resolution than said image.

4. A system (1) as claimed in claim 3, wherein said one or more lighting devices (31-33) comprises a pixelated lighting device (33), and wherein said at least one processor (5) is configured to control said one or more lighting devices (31-33) by controlling a pixelated lighting device (33) according to said array of light settings, said pixelated lighting device (33) comprising said array of light sources (11-19).

5. A system (1) as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein said one or more static parameters comprise at least one of: one or more color values, and a further textual description.

6. A system (1) as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein said at least one processor (5) is configured to:- obtain information indicative of one or more properties of said one or more lighting devices (31-33) in said environment, and- determine said light settings by extracting colors from said image based on said one or more properties of said one or more lighting devices (31-33).

7. A system (1) as claimed in claim 6, wherein said one or more properties of said one or more lighting devices (31-33) in said environment comprise one or more types and / or one or more locations of said one or more lighting devices (31-33) in said environment.

8. A system (1) as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein said textual description describes at least one of: time of day, time of year, weather, user activity, and persons present in said environment.

9. A system (1) as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein said one or more static parameters comprise one or more color values to be included in said image and / or one or more color values to be excluded from said image.

10. A system (1) as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein said at least one processor (5) is configured to:- receive a signal indicative of a target impact of said textual description with respect to said one or more static parameters, said target impact being specified by a user, and- generate said image further based on said target impact of said textual description.

11. A system (1) as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein said one or more lighting devices comprise a plurality of lighting devices (31-33) and said at least one processor (5) is configured to:- obtain information identifying at least one of said plurality of lighting devices (31-33), a light setting being prescribed for each of said at least one lighting device, and- determine said light settings for said plurality of lighting devices (31-33) such that each of said at least one lighting device is assigned said corresponding prescribed light setting.

12. A system (1) as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein said light settings comprise dynamic light settings.

13. A method of determining light settings based on an image and controlling one or more lighting devices located in an environment according to said light settings, said method comprising:- obtaining (101) one or more static parameters, said one or more static parameters being indicative of one or more colors;- obtaining (103) a textual description describing an environmental context of said environment;- generating (105) an image based on said one or more static parameters and said textual description;- determining (107) said light settings by extracting colors from said image; and- controlling (109) said one or more lighting devices according to said light settings.

14. A computer program product for a computing device, the computer program product comprising computer program code to perform the method of claim 13 when the computer program product is run on a processing unit of the computing device.

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