Mitigation of lighting system effects on other systems

Abstract

A method of managing interference between a lighting system and a second system includes changing, by the lighting system, one or more characteristics of a light resulting in a change in a lighting of a space. The method further includes detecting, by the lighting system, a physical behavior exhibited by a person in the space subsequent to the change in the lighting and sending, by the lighting system, a notification to the second system indicating that the physical behavior of the person is associated with the lighting of the space. The second system monitors in the space one or more physiological conditions of the person, one or more physical behaviors of the person, or both.

Description

[0001] Mitigation of lighting system effects on other systems

[0002] FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0003] The present disclosure relates generally to lighting, and more particularly to mitigating the effects of lighting system operations on other systems that operate in the same space.

[0004] BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0005] Smart home systems are becoming increasingly common. For example, a smart home system may perform tasks such as adjusting the lighting of a space, such as a residential house, an office building, etc., based on current and / or predicted behaviors of occupants of the space as well as other factors. Smart home systems may be artificial intelligence (Al)-based systems. For example, a smart home system may include an AL based lighting system that controls the lighting in a space based on current and / or predicted behaviors (e.g., one or more activities) of occupants of the space, based on ambient light level, etc.

[0006] To illustrate, a smart home system may be based on reinforcement learning Al algorithm. An example reinforcement learning based system that uses q-leaming algorithm for lighting control is described in Vignesh Gokul, et al., “Deep q-learning for home automation,” International Journal of Computer Applications, 152(6): 15, 2016. An example reinforcement learning based system that deals with multiple aspects of a home environment is described in Jose Mirra, et al. “Reinforcement Learning Based Approach for Smart Homes,” Intelligent Environments, 2018.

[0007] In some cases, a particular space or environment may include multiple systems including an Al-based lighting system. In such cases, the operations of the Al-based lighting system may sometimes interfere with the operation of another system in the space. For example, a non-lighting system may monitor the behavior and / or the condition of an occupant of the space that can be influenced or otherwise affected by a change in lighting effectuated by the Al-based lighting system. The non-lighting system may lack the ability to monitor changes in the lighting of the space that cause changes in the behavior and / or condition of the occupant. Such effect of lighting on the behavior of the occupant may result in the non-lighting system, for example, misinterpreting the behavior of the occupant. Thus, a solution that mitigates the interference of the lighting system on other systems that operate in the same space may be desirable.

[0008] SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0009] The present disclosure relates generally to lighting, and more particularly to mitigating the effects of lighting system operations on other systems that operate in the same space. In an example embodiment, a method of managing interference between a lighting system and a second system includes changing, by the lighting system, one or more characteristics of a light resulting in a change in a lighting of a space. In some embodiments, the lighting system may be an Al lighting system configured to change one or more characteristics of a light resulting in a change in a lighting of a space without a direct control command from a user. The method further includes detecting, by the lighting system, a physical behavior exhibited by a person in the space subsequent or in response to the change in the lighting and sending, by the lighting system, a notification to the second system indicating that the physical behavior of the person is associated with the lighting of the space. The second system monitors in the space one or more physiological conditions of the person, one or more physical behaviors of the person, or both. The second system may estimate a health status of the person based on the monitored one or more physiological conditions and / or the one or more physical behaviors of the person. Thereby, said notification causes the second system to identify whether instances of the monitored one or more physiological conditions and / or the one or more physical behaviors of the person are caused by changes in the lighting of the space or have other causes, e.g., a deterioration in the health status of the person and exclude said instances that are caused by changes in the lighting of the space from the estimation of the health status of the person. In another example embodiment, a multifunctional system for a lighting control and one or more other functions in a space includes a lighting system configured to control a lighting of the space. The multifunctional system may further include a second system configured to monitor one or more behaviors of a person in the space. The lighting system is configured to change one or more characteristics of a light resulting in a change in the lighting of the space. The lighting system is further configured to detect a physical behavior exhibited by the person in the space subsequent to the change in the lighting. The lighting system is also configured to send a notification to the second system that the physical behavior is associated with the change in the lighting. The second system is configured to monitor in the space one or more physiological conditions of the person, one or more physical behaviors of the person 106, or both. The second system may estimate a health status of the person based on the monitored one or more physiological conditions and / or the one or more physical behaviors of the person. Thereby, said notification causes the second system to identify whether instances of the monitored one or more physiological conditions and / or the one or more physical behaviors of the person are caused by changes in the lighting of the space or have other causes, e.g., a deterioration in the health status of the person and exclude said instances that are caused by changes in the lighting of the space from the estimation of the health status of the person.

[0010] These and other aspects, objects, features, and embodiments will be apparent from the following description and the appended claims.

[0011] BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0012] Reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, which are not necessarily drawn to scale, and wherein:

[0013] Fig. 1 illustrates a multifunctional system including an Al lighting system according to an example embodiment;

[0014] Fig. 2 illustrates a block diagram of the Al lighting system of FIG. 1 according to an example embodiment;

[0015] Fig. 3 illustrates a block diagram of the controller of the Al lighting system of FIG. 2 according to an example embodiment; and

[0016] Fig. 4 illustrates a method of managing interference between the Al lighting system and a health monitoring system according to an example embodiment.

[0017] The drawings illustrate only example embodiments and are therefore not to be considered limiting in scope. The elements and features shown in the drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the example embodiments. Additionally, certain dimensions or placements may be exaggerated to help visually convey such principles. In the drawings, the same reference numerals used in different drawings may designate like or corresponding but not necessarily identical elements.

[0018] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

[0019] In the following paragraphs, example embodiments will be described in further detail with reference to the figures. In the description, well known components, methods, and / or processing techniques are omitted or briefly described. Furthermore, reference to various feature(s) of the embodiments is not to suggest that all embodiments must include the referenced feature(s).

[0020] FIG. 1 illustrates a multifunctional system 100 including an Al lighting system 102 according to an example embodiment. In some example embodiments, the multifunctional system 100 includes the Al lighting system 102 and a health monitoring system 104. The Al lighting system 102 and the health monitoring system 104 may communicate with each other. The Al lighting system 102 may be a smart home system or a part of a smart home system designed to proactively adjust the lighting in a space 108. The space 108 may be a single room, a residential house with multiple floors and rooms such as rooms 112, 114, a commercial building, etc. As described below, the Al lighting system 102 may effectuate changes of the lighting in the space 108 without a direct control from a user. The Al lighting system 102 may monitor physical behaviors (e.g., individual activities or a series of activities) of a person 106 in the space 108 and may notify the health monitoring system 104 about changes of lighting in the space 108 (said changes above a predetermined difference threshold) effectuated by the Al lighting system 102. The health monitoring system 104 may monitor physiological conditions and physical behaviors (e.g., one or more activities) of the person 106. The health monitoring system 104 may process, based on the notification from the Al lighting system 102, physiological conditions and physical behaviors of the person 106 detected by the health monitoring system 104. Physical behaviors monitored or otherwise detected by the Al lighting system 102 and / or the health monitoring system 104 may include or may be related to movements, positions, facial expressions, body language, eye contact, gestures, posture, tone of voice, speed of speech, physical proximity to another person / object, touching another person / object, etc. For example, fidgeting, pacing, rapid speech, tapping of hand or feet, pacing across the room, clenched jaw, sighing, throwing up hands in the air, etc. may indicate agitation.

[0021] In some example embodiments, the health monitoring system 104 may include one or more health monitoring devices such as wearable devices, sensors (e.g., motion sensors) installed in the space, biochemical sensors (e.g., patches with built-in electronics), smart phone installed applications, etc. For example, a wearable device or a smart phone may include an accelerometer and other components that may be used to monitor the mobility of the person 106. To illustrate, the health monitoring system 104 may monitor physiological conditions such as sweating, heart rate, heart rate variability, breathing rate, blood pressure, glucose level, etc. In some cases, the health monitoring system 104 may monitor physical activities including sleeping, sitting, standing, walking, exercising, falling, etc. For example, the health monitoring system 104 may monitor walking speed and number of steps. As another example, the health monitoring system 104 may monitor durations of sleep, sitting, standing, walking, exercising, etc.

[0022] In general, the health monitoring system 104 may monitor physiological and / or physical activities the person 106 and estimate the physical, emotional, and / or psychological / mental health of the person 106 using the monitored information. For example, the health monitoring system 104 may process the monitored information and / or transmit the monitored information, for example, to a remote server (e.g., a cloud server) for processing. To illustrate, the health monitoring system 104 may include a processor (e.g., a microprocessor) that executes a software code in a memory device (e.g., a flash memory unit) to perform operations described herein with respect to the health monitoring system 104. The software code may include Al algorithm and other software codes and related data. The health monitoring system 104 may also include a communication interface unit that can transmit and receive information wirelessly (e.g., Wi-Fi network) and / or via a wired connection such as an Ethernet connection.

[0023] In some example embodiments, the health monitoring system 104 may monitor particular physiological conditions and / or physical behaviors (e.g., one or more activities) of the person 106 to estimate one or more particular health conditions. For example, the health monitoring system 104 may monitor particular physiological and / or physical behaviors of the person 106 to estimate a chronic disease such as hypertension. As another example, the health monitoring system 104 may monitor particular physiological and / or physical behaviors of the person 106 to estimate emotional health of the person 106 that may, for example, suffer from a disease such as dementia. For example, people with dementia are known to wander around. To illustrate, a person with dementia may get up to toggle a light switch but may forget the objective before getting to the light switch and start wandering aimlessly around. As another example, the health monitoring system 104 may monitor particular physiological and / or physical behaviors of the person 106 to estimate psychological / mental health of the person 106 that may, for example, suffer from a disease such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, etc.

[0024] In some example embodiments, the health monitoring system 104 may estimate the health condition of the person 106 based on monitored physiological conditions such as sweating, heart rate, heart rate variability, breathing rate, blood pressure, etc. For example, the health monitoring system 104 may estimate that the person 106 is generally unwell based on the amount of sweat detected by the health monitoring system 104. As another example, the health monitoring system 104 may estimate that the person 106 is fatigued, agitated, or nervous based on the heart rate of the person 106. As yet another example, the health monitoring system 104 may estimate that the person 106 is fatigued, agitated, or nervous based on the breathing rate of the person 106 as detected / ob served by the health monitoring system 104.

[0025] In some example embodiments, the health monitoring system 104 may estimate the health condition of the person 106 based on monitored physical behaviors such as sleeping, sitting, standing, walking, exercising. For example, the health monitoring system 104 may estimate whether the person 106 is fatigued, depressed, confused, agitated, or nervous based on one or more physical behaviors of the person. To illustrate, the health monitoring system 104 may estimate a slow walking speed of the person 106 indicates that the person is tired / fatigued or unwell. As another example, the health monitoring system 104 may estimate that an abrupt slowdown in the walking speed of the person 106 indicates that the person 106 is about to fall down. As yet another example, the health monitoring system 104 may estimate that a relatively high walking speed indicates that the person 106 is feeling better. As yet another example, the health monitoring system 104 may estimate that the person 106 is tired or unwell because of a short exercise duration as observed by the health monitoring system 104. The health monitoring system 104 may also estimate whether the person 106 is sleeping, sitting, standing, walking, exercising, etc. as expected durations or as scheduled by monitoring physical behaviors of the person 106. The health monitoring system 104 may also estimate that the person 106 is agitated based on the person 106 pacing around or fidgeting.

[0026] In some example embodiments, the Al lighting system 102 may learn the lighting preferences of the person 106 under different scenarios and may proactively adjust the lighting in the space 108 without direct lighting control input from the person 106. To illustrate, the Al lighting system 102 may power on some light fixtures and power off other light fixtures in the space 108. As another example, the Al lighting system 102 may change one or more characteristics of one or more lights provided to the space 108 by one or more light fixtures of the Al lighting system 102. The characteristics of lights provided to the space 108 may include light intensity level, color temperature, beam distribution, color, spatial light distribution, etc. of the lights. A characteristic of a light may also be a temporal change or time series change in one or more characteristics of the light. For example, the Al lighting system 102 may change a characteristic of a light by performing temporal / time-series changes in one or more characteristics of the light. Characteristics of a light may also include temporal light artefacts such as flickering (e.g., presence, rate, and absence thereof), etc. and dynamic lighting effects such as, for example, a lighting effect signifying a rain in a forest or the sun rising at a mountain top. The intensity level of a light may include the light being off, maximum intensity level, and intensity levels therebetween. One or more lights provided to the space 108 by one or more light fixtures of the Al lighting system 102 may include illumination light(s), infrared light(s), and / or another light.

[0027] In some example embodiments, the lighting system 102 may control the lighting in the space such that changes in the one or more characteristics of light do not result in changes in the lighting of the space that exhibit a physical behavior that is monitored by the second system.

[0028] In some example embodiments, the Al lighting system 102 may implement a reinforcement learning algorithm (e.g., q-learning algorithm) to develop a policy for controlling the lighting in the space 108. In general, the policy of the reinforcement learning algorithm dictates the rules of operation of the Al lighting system 102 for controlling the lighting in the space 108 as can be readily understood by those of ordinary skill in the art with the benefit of this disclosure. The actions taken by the Al lighting system 102 to control the lighting in the space 108 may include turning on light, turning off light, reducing intensity, increasing intensity, reducing color temperature, increasing color temperature, etc. under different circumstances. For example, based on the policy of the reinforcement learning algorithm, the Al lighting system 102 may power on a light fixture in a particular area or room of the space 108, for example, when the person 106 enters the room and / or when the natural light dips below a certain level.

[0029] As another example, based on the policy of the reinforcement learning algorithm, the Al lighting system 102 may dim a light in a particular room of the space 108 after a particular time of the day. As yet another example, based on the policy of the reinforcement learning algorithm, the Al lighting system 102 may increase the color temperature of a light in a particular room of the space 108 such that the light has a particular color temperature between certain times of the day. As yet another example, based on the policy of the reinforcement learning algorithm, the Al lighting system 102 may turn off a light in the space 108 after a certain time of the day. As yet another example, based on the policy of the reinforcement learning algorithm, the Al lighting system 102 may focus a light toward a particular area of the space 108 after a certain time of the day. In some example embodiments, data related to the lighting preferences and manual lighting control habits of the person 106 may be collected, and such data may be subsequently used to update a policy of the reinforcement learning algorithm. For example, with lighting control by the Al lighting system 102 disabled, data about the lighting preferences and lighting control habits of the person 106 may be collected and stored in a database. For example, the collected data may be stored in a memory device (e.g., a flash memory) that is part of the Al lighting system 102. Alternatively, the collected data may be stored remotely, for example, in the cloud. The collected data may include information about the lighting condition in the space 108 at different times of the day, at different locations of the space 108, when the person 106 is present, when the person 106 is not in the space 108, when another person is in the space 108, when the person 106 is engaged in different activities, when the person 106 is asleep, etc. The collected data may also include information about the manual lighting control habits of the person 106 related to lighting and other conditions in the space 108. For example, the collected data may be related to lighting and other conditions that trigger the person 106 to turn on, off and / or adjust (e.g., reduce or increase intensity, color temperature, etc.) one or more lights in the space 108. To illustrate, the person 106 may typically power on one or more light fixtures in the space 108 when the natural light level in the space 108 dips below a particular level. As another example, the person 106 may typically increase the intensity level of one or more lights emitted by light fixtures in the space 108 when the person 106 is about to start exercising. As yet another example, the person 106 may typically increase the intensity level of one or more lights in the space 108 when one or more other persons are in the space 108.

[0030] In some example embodiments, after the data is collected as described above, the Al lighting system 102 may start controlling the lighting in the space 108, for example, based on an initial or default policy of the reinforcement learning algorithm, and the policy may be updated based on the Al lighting system 102 and the collected data. For example, if a lighting control action (e.g., dim the lighting in the space 108) taken by the Al lighting system 102 is inconsistent with the lighting preferences and / or control habits of the person 106 as reflected by the collected data, the reinforcement learning algorithm may receive a negative reward and the policy may be updated accordingly. On the other hand, if a lighting control action taken by the Al lighting system 102 is consistent with the lighting preferences and / or control habits of the person 106 as reflected by the collected data, the reinforcement learning algorithm may receive a positive reward. In general, the reinforcement learning algorithm may receive the ‘state’ of the space 108 derived from information captured by sensors in the space 108 such as one or more light sensors, motion sensors, cameras, thermopiles, microphones, and / or other sensors of the Al lighting system 102. The ‘state’ of the space 108 may include or may be based on lighting, occupancy, time of day, sound types, sound levels, the location of the person 106 and others that may be in the space 108, activities of the person 106 and others that may be in the space 108, and other information that may be relevant to the control of the lighting in the space 108 as can be readily understood by those of ordinary skill in the art with the benefit of this disclosure. In general, the Al lighting system 102 may update the policy of the reinforcement learning algorithm based on rewards following lighting control actions taken by the Al lighting system 102.

[0031] In some example embodiments, the Al lighting system 102 may update the policy of the reinforcement learning algorithm based on manual lighting changes made by the person 106 following adjustments of the lighting in the space 108 by the Al lighting system 102. For example, if the person 106 powers off a light fixture in the space 108 immediately after (e.g., within 30 seconds, 1 minute, 5 minutes, or 10 minutes) the Al lighting system 102 powers on the light fixture, the reinforcement learning algorithm may receive a negative reward and the policy may be updated accordingly. As another example, if the person 106 dims the lighting in the space 108 immediately after the Al lighting system 102 increases the intensity of the light fixture, the reinforcement learning algorithm may receive a negative reward that results in the policy being updated accordingly. As yet another example, if the person 106 increases the color temperature of a light provided to the space 108 immediately after the Al lighting system 102 decreases the color temperature of the light, the reinforcement learning algorithm may receive a negative reward that results in the updating of the policy.

[0032] In some example embodiments, the Al lighting system 102 may update the policy of the reinforcement learning algorithm based on direct feedback from the person 106. To illustrate, the person 106 may provide a user input indicating approval or disapproval of a change in lighting effectuated by the Al lighting system 102. The person 106 may provide user inputs, for example, via a user interface of the Al lighting system 102. A user input disapproving a change in lighting may serve as a negative reward to the reinforcement learning algorithm and may result in an updated policy.

[0033] In some example embodiments, despite the policy of the reinforcement learning algorithm being updated based on the lighting preferences and / or habits of the person 106, the person 106 may not like a change in the lighting in the space 108 made by the Al lighting system 102 for various reasons. For example, the person 106 may not like the lighting because of the particular momentary mood of the person 106. As another example, the person 106 may be engaged in an activity (e.g., yoga) for the first time for which no prior lighting condition preference is known by the Al lighting system 102. As another example, the Al lighting system 102 may adjust the lighting because of the detection of another person in the space 108, and the appropriate lighting for such a scenario may be irritating to the person 106. To illustrate, the other person may be present in the space 108 to give medication to the person 106. In general, in some cases, the Al lighting system 102 may have learned that a particular lighting or a particular change in the lighting of the space 108 should be effectuated, for example, at a particular time of the day, when another person is preset, and / or for another reason despite a ‘negative’ reaction of the person 106 to the lighting or the change in the lighting.

[0034] In some cases, after the Al lighting system 102 changes the lighting in the space 108, the person 106 may not immediately adjust or otherwise change the lighting despite being unhappy with the change. For example, the person 106 may adjust the lighting at least for a time period (e.g., 10 minutes, 30 minutes, or longer). The person 106 may not change the lighting for a number of reasons such as momentary inconvenience of access to a lighting control unit (e.g., too far from a wall switch), being occupied with another activity, etc. as can be contemplated by those of ordinary skill in the art with the benefit of this disclosure.

[0035] In some example embodiments, after the Al lighting system 102 changes the lighting by changing one or more characteristics of one or more lights provided to the space 108, the person 106 may exhibit physical behavior(s) as a result of the changed lighting in the space 108. For example, as a result of the changed lighting effectuated by the Al lighting system 102, the person 106 may change locations, positions, and / or activities. To illustrate, the person 106 may become fatigued, depressed, confused, agitated, nervous, calm, cautious, etc. as a result of a lighting change and may act accordingly. For example, the person 106 may change walking speed or may pace around, fidget, etc. as a result of a changed lighting in the space 108. As another example, the person 106 may wipe off sweat from his / her face if the person 106 starts sweating heavily, for example, because of nervousness or agitation caused by the changed lighting. In general, the Al lighting system 102 may detect physical behavior(s) of the person 106 that indicate agitation, fatigue, depression, confusion, nervousness, anxiety, calmness, etc. In some example embodiments, in response to the Al lighting system 102 dimming the lighting in the space 108, the person 106 may start walking slow, for example, due to lower visibility. As another example, in response to the Al lighting system 102 turning on a light in another room of the space 108, the person 106 may walk from a first room of the space 108 to the other room to turn off the light and then return to the first room. As another example, in response to the Al lighting system 102 dimming the lighting in the space 108, the person 106 may stop exercising, for example, due to lower visibility or simply because the person 106 is uncomfortable exercising when the lighting is dim. To be clear, the Al lighting system 102 may have dimmed the lighting, for example, because the preference of the person 106 is for dim lighting at the particular time of the day based on the training of the Al lighting system 102. As yet another example, in response to the Al lighting system 102 dimming the lighting in the space 108, the person 106 may stop reading and subsequently lie down.

[0036] In some example embodiments, in response to the Al lighting system 102 increasing the brightness of a light provided to the space 108 by one or more light fixtures of the Al lighting system 102, the person 106 may change positions, for example, from lying down to sitting up, from sitting down to standing up and / or walking, etc. As another example, in response to the Al lighting system 102 increasing the brightness of a light provided to the space 108, the person 106 may stand up and start pacing around, for example, because of nervousness caused by the bright light or simply because the person 106 is uncomfortable with the bright light. As yet another example, in response to the Al lighting system 102 turning on a light provided to a particular area (e.g., near an outside entrance 110) of the space 108, the person 106 may stand up and walk fast toward the area, for example, because of excitement about a possible arrival of a guest. As yet another example, in response to the Al lighting system 102 increasing the color temperature of a light provided to the space 108, the person 106 may stand up and start pacing around and / or sweating heavily, for example, because of nervousness or agitation caused by the high color temperature light or simply because the person 106 is uncomfortable with the lighting.

[0037] In some example embodiments, after the Al lighting system 102 changes the lighting by changing one or more characteristics of one or more lights provided to the space 108, the person 106 may experience, as a result of the changed lighting, one or more physiological conditions that are monitored by the health monitoring system 104. For example, the person 106 may experience a physiological condition such a blood pressure spike, heart rate spike, increased breathing rate, increased sweating, reduced blood pressure, reduced heart rate, lower breathing rate, and / or another physiological event in response to the changed lighting effectuated by the Al lighting system 102. To illustrate, the person 106 may experience increased blood pressure because of increased brightness and / or increased color temperature of the lighting in the space 108 for various reasons such as psychological or emotional issues, some illnesses, etc. As another example, the person 106 may have a reduced breathing rate because the person 106 has become sleepy as a result of reduced color temperature (e.g., from CCT of 6000K to 2700K) of the lighting in the space 108. To illustrate, the Al lighting system 102 may have learned that the person 108 takes a nap at a particular time of a particular day of a week, and the Al lighting system 102 may reduce the color temperature of the lighting in the space 108 at the particular time of the day. As another example, the person 106 may experience increased sweating because of increased intensity of an infrared light and / or ultraviolet light emitted by one or more light fixtures in the space 108, for example, for disease control purposes.

[0038] In some cases, the physiological conditions experienced by the person 106 as a result of a lighting change in the space 108 may be accompanied by particular physical behaviors of the person 106. For example, a physical behavior accompanying a physiological condition experienced by the person 106 may be the result of the physiological condition. That is, a physical behavior exhibited by the person 106 may be caused directly by the changed lighting the space 108 or indirectly as a result of a physiological condition caused by the changed lighting. Physiological conditions experienced by the person 106 may be monitored by the health monitoring system 104 and the accompanying physical behaviors of the person 106 may be monitored by the Al lighting system 102 and / or the health monitoring system 104.

[0039] In general, some physical behaviors exhibited by the person 106 as a result of change(s) in one or more characteristics of light(s) provided to the space 108 may be monitored by the health monitoring system 104 as well as by the Al lighting system 102. Some physiological conditions experienced by the person 106 as a result of lighting change effectuated by the Al lighting system 102 may be monitored by the health monitoring system 104 whether such physiological conditions are accompanied by physical behaviors. As described above, the health monitoring system 104 may include one or more wearable devices, and such devices may be worn by the person 106 for monitoring physical behaviors and / or physiological conditions of the person 106.

[0040] In some example embodiments, information identifying instances of physical behaviors of the person 106 caused, directly or indirectly, by the lighting in the space 108 may be useful for the health monitoring system 104. For example, the health monitoring system 104 may want to distinguish instances of physical behaviors and / or physiological conditions of the person 106 caused by lighting change and detected by the health monitoring system 104 from those that have other causes such as underlying changes in the health of the person 106. For example, determining whether the person 106 is / was walking slow due to dim lighting or due to a worsening physical pain may be important to a user (e.g., a physician, a physical therapist, etc.) of the health monitoring system 104 that may be remotely located. As another example, determining whether the person 106 exercised for a relatively short time due to a lighting change in the exercise area of the space 108 (e.g., due to dimmed lighting) or due to tiredness may be important to a user of the health monitoring system 104. As another example, determining whether the person 106 is / was sweating heavily due to the lighting in the space 108 (e.g., due to infrared or ultraviolet light being powered on) or due to tiredness or lack of energy may be important to a user of the health monitoring system 104. As yet another example, if the person walks out of a first room of the space 108 to a second room of the space 108 and returns to the first room after turning off a light fixture in the second room, determining whether such behavior of the person 106 is due to dementia (e.g., the person 106 is wandering around aimlessly) or due to another reason (e.g., to manually change lighting as in this case) may be important to a user of the health monitoring system 104.

[0041] As such, in some example embodiments, the Al lighting system 102 may notify the health monitoring system 104 whenever the Al lighting system 102 effectuates a change in the lighting in the space 108. Alternatively, in some example embodiments, the Al lighting system 102 may notify the health monitoring system 104 when the Al lighting system 102 effectuates some but not all changes in the lighting in the space 108. For example, the Al lighting system 102 may notify the health monitoring system 104 when the change in lighting effectuated by the Al lighting system 102 is related to turning on or off one or more lights in the space 108 but not when the change in lighting related to light intensity level or vice versa. As yet another example, the Al lighting system 102 may notify the health monitoring system 104 when the change in lighting effectuated by the Al lighting system 102 is related to the intensity level of one or more lights provided to the space 108 but not when related to color temperature.

[0042] In some cases, the Al lighting system 102 may notify the health monitoring system 104 when the change in the intensity level of one or more lights provided to the space 108 exceeds an intensity level threshold (e.g., 100 lux, 300 lux, or 500 lux). As yet another example, the Al lighting system 102 may notify the health monitoring system 104 when the change in lighting effectuated by the Al lighting system 102 is related to the color temperature of one or more lights provided to the space 108. In some cases, the Al lighting system 102 may notify the health monitoring system 104 when the change in the color temperature of one or more lights provided to the space 108 exceeds a color temperature threshold (e.g., 500K, lOOOK, or 2000K). As yet another example, the Al lighting system 102 may or may not notify the health monitoring system 104 when the change in lighting effectuated by the Al lighting system 102 is in a room of the space 108 that is different from the location of the person 106.

[0043] In some cases, the notification sent the Al lighting system 102 to the health monitoring system 104 may indicate the particular lighting change (e.g., light dimmed, light turned off, etc.). Alternatively, the notification may be a non-specific indication of a lighting change.

[0044] In some example embodiments, the Al lighting system 102 may notify the health monitoring system 104 when the Al lighting system 102 detects a particular physical behavior of the person 106 following the Al lighting system 102 effectuating a change in one or more characteristics of one or more lights provided to the space 108 by one or more light fixtures of the Al lighting system 102. A particular physical behavior of the person 106 monitored by the person 106 may be, for example, changing locations, positions, and / or activities. To illustrate, the Al lighting system 102 may monitor physical behaviors of the person 106 using sensors such as camera(s), Wi-Fi based sensor(s) (e.g., Wi-Fi channel state information (CSI)-based sensors), other radiofrequency sensors, motion sensor(s), thermopiles, and / or other types of sensors. The Al lighting system 102 may notify the health monitoring system 104 when the Al lighting system 102 detects a particular physical behavior of the person 106 within a threshold time from a change in the lighting of the space 108 effectuated by the Al lighting system 102. For example, the threshold time may be 30 seconds, 1 minute, or 5 minutes, or another time period that may be applicable to the type of physical behavior that may be exhibited by the person 106. Alternatively or in addition, the Al lighting system 102 may notify the health monitoring system 104 when the Al lighting system 102 detects a particular physical behavior of the person 106 if the person 106 is in the area of the space 108 or within a threshold distance (e.g., 10 feet, 20 feet, 30 feet) from the area of the space 108 that had a change in lighting effectuated by the Al lighting system 102.

[0045] In some example embodiments, a particular physical behavior that is detected by the Al lighting system 102 may be the person 106 moving from one location to another within the space 108 following the change in lighting effectuated by the Al lighting system 102. For example, the person 106 moving from one room in the space 108 to another room in the space 108 that has, for example, brighter may be a physical behavior of interest. As another example of a physical behavior detected by the Al lighting system 102 may be the person 106 walking from a first room of the space 108 to a second room, for example, to turn off a light that was just turned on by the Al lighting system 102 and then returning to the first room. To illustrate, such physical behaviors that are related to lighting may be distinguished, for example, from dementia related “wandering around” behavior. As another example, the person 106 may change viewing direction from a first viewing direction (e.g., toward an inside area of the space 108) to a second viewing direction (e.g., toward a window). Another physical behavior of interest may be the person 106 changing from one position (e.g., sitting down) to another (e.g., standing up or lying down). Another particular behavior of interest may be the person 106 fidgeting, for example, by moving legs frequently and / or wringing hands. Another particular behavior of interest may be the person 106 wiping the person’s forehead in a manner that corresponds to the person 106 wiping off sweat. Another particular behavior of interest may be the person 106 walking slow (e.g., slower than 1 step per second).

[0046] In general, the Al lighting system 102 may notify the health monitoring system 104 about a change in lighting effectuated by the Al lighting system 102 regardless of the detection of a physical behavior of the person 106 within a threshold time from the change in lighting. Alternatively or in addition, the Al lighting system 102 may notify the health monitoring system 104 about a change in lighting and / or about the detection of particular physical behaviors of the person 106, for example, within a threshold time from the change in lighting.

[0047] In some example embodiments, the notification sent by the Al lighting system 102 to the health monitoring system 104 may depend on the types of health conditions of the person 106 monitored by the health monitoring system 104. For example, the health monitoring system 104 may provide information to the Al lighting system 102 indicating health conditions of interest, physical behavior of interest, and / or other related information. To illustrate, the health monitoring system 104 may provide information to the Al lighting system 102 indicating the types of physiological conditions (e.g., sweating, high blood pressure, and / or heart rate) and / or the types of diseases (e.g., hypertension, dementia, etc.) that are of interest to the health monitoring system 104. The Al lighting system 102 may determine, based on the received information, whether to notify the health monitoring system 104 about a particular change in lighting and / or the detection of a particular physical behavior associated with the change in lighting.

[0048] To be clear, the Al lighting system 102 may not provide notification to the health monitoring system 104 that indicates a direct detection of physiological conditions by the Al lighting system 102. Indeed, the Al lighting system 102 may not perform a direct detection of physiological conditions of the person 106. For example, the Al lighting system 102 may not detect whether the person 106 is / was sweating heavily based on a direct sweat detection. However, the Al lighting system 102 may provide a notification to the health monitoring system 104 about physiological conditions of the person based on an interpretation of detected physical behaviors. For example, after a lighting change in the space 108, the Al lighting system 102 may detect the wiping of sweat by the person 106, for example, from the person’s forehead and may notify the health monitoring system 104 about the detection of the physical behavior of wiping sweat and / or the physiological condition of heavy sweating by the person 106.

[0049] In some example embodiments, the health monitoring system 104 may ignore / discard detections performed by the health monitoring system 104 and that are related to the notification received from the Al lighting system 102. For example, the health monitoring system 104 may identify particular detections of physiological conditions and / or physical behaviors of the person 106 by the health monitoring system 104 to which the notification applies at least based on matching / similar physical behaviors of the person 106 indicated in the notification. As another example, the health monitoring system 104 may identify particular detections of physiological conditions and / or physical behaviors of the person 106 by the health monitoring system 104 to which the notification applies based on timestamp information of lighting change and / or detections by the Al lighting system 102 indicated in the notification.

[0050] In some example embodiments, instead of ignoring / discarding detections by the health monitoring system 104 based on the notifications from the Al lighting system 102, the health monitoring system 104 may process such detections qualified by the notification from the Al lighting system 102. For example, in some cases, the health monitoring system 104 may keep track and / or analyze physiological conditions and / or physical behaviors that are influenced by lighting. In some example embodiments, the health monitoring system 104 may be an Al-based system and may use the information provided by the notification as part of the learning process of the health monitoring system 104. In some alternative embodiments, the multifunction system 100 of FIG. 1 may include other components such as multiple health monitoring systems and / or multiple lighting systems without departing from the scope of this disclosure. In some alternative embodiments, other items may be in the space 108 without departing from the scope of this disclosure. For example, the space 108 may include light fixtures that are not be controlled by the Al lighting system 102. As another example, furniture or other household items may be in the space 108. Although the space 108 is shown as a single area, the space 108 may include multiple sections, rooms, floors, etc. without departing from the scope of this disclosure. In some alternative embodiments, the health monitoring system may be another type of system unrelated to health monitoring. The health monitoring system 104 may be an Al-based system or a non-AI based system. In some example embodiments, one or both of the Al lighting system 102 and the health monitoring system 104 may send and receive data to / from a remote server, such as a cloud server, that may perform some of the operations described herein with respect to the Al lighting system 102 and the health monitoring system 104. In some example embodiments, the A lighting system 102 may be a non-AI based lighting system without departing from the scope of this disclosure.

[0051] FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of the Al lighting system 102 of FIG. 1 according to an example embodiment. In some example embodiments, the Al lighting system 102 includes a controller 202, light fixtures 204, and sensors 206. The light fixtures 204 may include different types of light fixtures such as recessed light fixtures, suspended light fixtures, floor light fixtures, desk light fixtures, scones, etc. that are controllable by the controller 202. The light fixtures 204 may be distributed in different areas and / or rooms of a space such as the space 108 of FIG. 1. The controller 202 may control individual light fixtures of the light fixtures 204 individually. Alternatively or in addition, the controller 202 may control subsets of the light fixtures 204 as groups. The controller 202 may also control all of the light fixtures 204 as a group.

[0052] In some example embodiments, the controller 202 may control the light fixtures 204 and thus the lights provided by the light fixtures 204 using one or more Al algorithms. To illustrate, FIG. 3 shows a block diagram of the controller 202 of the Al lighting system 102 of FIG. 2 according to an example embodiment. Referring to FIGS. 1-3, the controller 202 may include a processor 302 (e.g., a microprocessor) and a memory device 304 (e.g., a nonvolatile memory device such as a flash memory device). Software code and data, such as Al software model 306 (e.g., q-learning algorithm and data such as q-table data) and other software code 308, may be stored in the memory device 304. The processor 302 may execute Al software model 306 and other software code 308 stored in the memory device 304 to learn the lighting preferences and habits of the person 106 in the space 108 and to control the lighting in the space 108 in the manner described above with respect to the Al lighting system 102 and FIG. 1.

[0053] In some example embodiments, the controller 202 may control the light fixtures 204 wirelessly and / or via wired connections as can be readily understood by those of ordinary skill in the art with the benefit of this disclosure. To illustrate, the controller 202 may adjust one or more characteristics of one or more lights, such as lights 212, 214, emitted by the light fixtures 204 by sending lighting control commands to the light fixtures 204. For example, the controller 202 may send lighting control commands to some or all of the light fixtures 204 to turn on, turn off, increase intensity, reduce intensity, increase color temperature, reduce color temperature (e.g., from CCT of 6000K to 2700K), change beam width, change direction, etc. of one or more lights, such as lights 212, 214, emitted by one or more light fixtures of the light fixtures 204.

[0054] In general, the controller 202 may adjust one or more characteristics of one or more lights emitted by one or more of the light fixtures 204 thereby effectuating / resulting in a change in the lighting in the space 108 as described above with respect to the Al lighting system 102 and FIG. 1. The controller 202 may implement one or more Al algorithms, such as reinforcement learning algorithms and / or other Al algorithms, to learn the lighting preferences / habits of the person 106 and to control the lighting accordingly in the manner described with respect to FIG. 1 and the Al lighting system 102.

[0055] In some example embodiments, the controller 202 may control the light fixtures 204 by sending lighting control commands using Wi-Fi signals, ZigBee signals, and / or other wireless signals to the light fixtures 204. Alternatively or in addition, the controller 202 may send lighting control commands to the light fixtures 204 via Ethernet connections to control the light fixtures 204. The controller 202 may also receive information (e.g., status information) from one or more light fixtures of the light fixtures 204 wirelessly and / or via wired connections.

[0056] In some example embodiments, the sensors 206 may include one or more light sensors, motion sensors (e.g., passive infrared (PIR) sensors), Wi-Fi and / or other radiofrequency sensors, cameras, thermopile sensors (e.g., single pixel and / or multi-pixel thermopile sensors), microphones, and / or other sensors. The sensors 206 may send sensing / detection information to the controller 202 wirelessly or via wired connections. In some example embodiments, some sensors of the sensors 206 may be integrated in the light fixtures 204 or may be standalone sensors. For example, one or more light fixtures of the light fixtures 204 may include a processor (e.g., a microprocessor), a memory device (e.g., a nonvolatile memory device such as a flash memory device), a light module, a communication interface unit, and / or some sensors of the sensors 206 such as one or more microphones (e.g., an array of microphones), a radar sensor, a thermopile sensor, a PIR sensor, and a camera. Individual sensors of the sensors 206 integrated in individual light fixtures of the light fixtures 204 may send detection information to the controller 202 directly or through the processor and / or communication interface unit of the respective individual light fixtures.

[0057] In some example embodiments, the processor of each light fixture of the light fixtures 204 may control the light provided by the particular light fixture, for example, based on lighting control commands received from the controller 202. Alternatively or in addition, the processor of each light fixture of the light fixtures 204 may control the light provided by the particular light fixture based on direct or manual user commands / inputs that are provided to the particular light fixture, for example, using an interface of the particular light fixture.

[0058] In some example embodiments, the sensors 206 may be used to detect the presence and location of one or more persons such as the person 106 in the space 108. The sensors 206 may also be used to detect light level, sound level, etc. in the space 108. The sensors 206 may be installed in different parts of the space 108. For example, the space 108 may include multiple rooms, multiple floors, a hallway, etc., and the sensors 206 may be used to detect, for example, the particular location(s) (e.g., a particular room, a particular floor, a location within a particular room, etc.) of the person 106 and / or other persons. Sensor data from light sensors, microphones, etc. of the sensors 206 may be sent to the controller 202 and may be processed, for example, by the controller 202 to determine light level, sound, etc. in the space 108.

[0059] In some example embodiments, the sensors 206 may also be used to detect physical behaviors of the person 106. For example, the physical behaviors of the person 106 detected using the sensors 206 may include lying down, sitting down, standing up, walking, jumping, moving arms, wiping face, etc. As another example, the physical behaviors of the person 106 detected using the sensors 206 may include walking speed, change in direction, facing in a particular direction, etc. Sensor data from one or more PIR sensors, Wi-Fi sensors, thermopile sensors, cameras, and / or other sensors of the sensor 206 may be sent to the controller 202 and may be processed, for example, by the controller 202 to detect the presence, location, physical behaviors (e.g., individual activities or a series of activities), etc. of the person 106 and / or other person(s) that may be in the space 108. The physical behaviors of the person 106 detected using the sensors 206 may include fidgeting, pacing around, screaming, fast talking, normal walking, slow walking, fast walking, slow talking, changing locations (e.g., within the same room or changing rooms), changing positions (e.g., changing from lying down to sitting down, changing from sitting down to standing up and / or walking, changing from standing up to sitting down, or changing from sitting down to lying down), etc. The detections performed using one or more sensors of the sensors 206 may be Al-based as can be readily understood by those of ordinary skill in the art with the benefit of this disclosure.

[0060] In some example embodiments, the Al lighting system 102 may also include a communication interface unit 208. For example, the controller 202 may transmit and receive information from the health monitoring system 104 via the communication interface unit 208. To illustrate, the Al lighting system 102 may notify the health monitoring system 104 about a change in lighting in the space 108 effectuated by the Al lighting system 102 as described above with respect to FIG. 1. The Al lighting system 102 may also receive, via the communication interface unit 208, information such as the particular diseases and / or physical behaviors of interest to the health monitoring system 104 as described above with respect to FIG. 1. The communication interface unit 208 may transmit and receive information using signals complaint with one or more wireless communication standards. For example, the communication interface unit 208 may transmit and receive Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) signals, Wi-Fi signals, ZigBee signals, and / or other wireless signals. In some cases, the controller 202 may also use the communication interface unit 208 to communicate with the light fixtures 204 and / or the sensors 206. The controller 202 may also use the communication interface unit 208 to communicate with other devices such as remote servers and other elements of the multifunctional system 100.

[0061] In some example embodiments, the Al lighting system 102 may also include a user interface 210. For example, the controller 202 may receive inputs from the person 106 in the space 108 via the user interface 210. To illustrate, the person 106 may provide feedback to the controller 202 following changes in the lighting in the space 108 effectuated by the controller 202 as described above with respect to FIG. 1. The user interface 210 may also be used to provide manual control of the lighting in the space 108 by the person 106. For example, the person 106 may be able to manually turn on and off one or more lights (e.g., the lights 212, 214), change intensity levels, change color temperature, etc. by providing inputs via the user interface 210. The person 106 may change the lighting in the space 108 via the user interface 210 regardless of whether the lighting was changed by the controller 202 within a threshold time period (e.g., 1 minute or 5 minutes). As described above, manual adjustment of the lighting in the space 108 by the person 106 following an adjustment by the Al lighting system 102 may be used to learn the lighting preferences of the person 106, for example, using reinforcement learning. In some cases, the controller 202 may use the user interface 210 to display information to the person 106.

[0062] In some example embodiments, when implementing reinforcement learning algorithm(s) (e.g., q-learning algorithm(s)) to learn the lighting preferences / habits of the person 106 and to control the lighting in the space accordingly, the controller 202 may receive rewards and ‘state’ information from the sensors 206, via the communication interface unit 208, and / or via the user interface 210 as can be readily understood by those of ordinary skill in the art with the benefit of this disclosure.

[0063] As described above, the Al lighting system 102 may learn to control the lighting in the space 108 generally based on lighting preferences and / or habits of the person 106. In some example embodiments, the Al lighting system 102 may learn generic common lighting preferences of people and may control the lighting in the space 108 accordingly. In some cases, the lighting in the space 108, after a change by the Al lighting system 102, may not match a particular preference of the person 106. Indeed, the person 106 may dislike the lighting after a particular change (e.g., brighter, dimmer, etc.) by the Al lighting system 102. However, the person 106 may not manually change the lighting and may not provide feedback to the Al lighting system 102 for the Al lighting system 102 to learn the actual preference of the person 106. In some cases, the person 106 may exhibit physiological and physical behaviors as a result of the lighting in the space 108, particularly within a threshold time after a change in the lighting effectuated by the Al lighting system 102.

[0064] As described above, the Al lighting system 102 can effectuate changes in the lighting in the space 108 and can monitor physical behaviors of the person 106 in the space 108. As described above, the person 106 may exhibit physical behaviors, directly or indirectly, as a result of the changed lighting. Because the Al lighting system 102 controls the lighting in the space 108, the Al lighting system 102 can identify physical behaviors of the person 106 that occur within a threshold time (e.g., 1 minute, 5 minutes, 10 minutes) from a lighting change effectuated by the Al lighting system 102. As described above, such physical behaviors of the person 106 and physiological conditions of the person 106 that can accompany such physical behaviors may be monitored by the health monitoring system 104. As such, the Al lighting system 102, by sending to the health monitoring system 104 notifications of lighting changes effectuated by the Al lighting system 102 and / or detected associated physical behaviors, enables the health monitoring system 104 to ignore or otherwise process differently instances of physical behaviors and / or physiological conditions of the person 106 that are detected by the health monitoring system 104 and that may be caused by or otherwise associated with the lighting changes in the space 108.

[0065] In general, the controller 202 may be a wall unit, a computer, or another type of unit that may be located in one or more locations in the space 108. In some alternative embodiments, some of the operations described herein with respect to the controller 202 and / or the Al lighting system 102 may be performed by a remote device such as a cloud server without departing from the scope of this disclosure. In some alternative embodiments, the Al lighting system 102 may include other components without departing from the scope of this disclosure. In some alternative embodiments, some of the components of the Al lighting system 102 may be integrated into a single component without departing from the scope of this disclosure. In some alternative embodiments, one or more components of the Al lighting system 102 may be omitted without departing from the scope of this disclosure. In some alternative embodiments, the controller 202 may include more components than shown in FIG. 3 without departing from the scope of this disclosure.

[0066] FIG. 4 illustrates a method 400 of managing interference between the Al lighting system and a health monitoring system according to an example embodiment. Referring to FIGS. 1-4, in some example embodiments, at step 402, the method 400 includes changing one or more characteristics of a light (e.g., the light 212) resulting in a change in lighting of the space 108. To illustrate, the controller 202 of the Al lighting system 102 may control one or more light fixtures of the light fixtures 204 to change one or more characteristics (e.g., light intensity, color temperature, etc.) the light 212, the light 214, and / or another light emitted by the particular one or more light fixtures. As described above, the controller 202 of the Al lighting system 102 may execute reinforcement learning algorithm(s) and / or other Al algorithms to control the lighting of the space 108.

[0067] In some example embodiments, at step 404, the method 400 includes detecting a physical behavior exhibited by the person 106 subsequent to the change in the lighting of the space 108 effectuated by the Al lighting system 102. The Al lighting system 102 may use the sensors 206 to detect physical behaviors exhibited by the person 106. Some of the physical behaviors of the person 106 include one or more acts that indicate agitation and / or nervousness. Some of the physical behaviors of the person 106 include one or more acts that indicate excitement and / or happiness. In general, physical behaviors that may exhibited by the person 106 and detected by the Al lighting system 102 may include changing locations, positions, and / or activities.

[0068] For example, physical behaviors of the person 106 may include fidgeting, pacing around, sounds (e.g., screaming or going from low voice to loud voice), moving from one location to another within the space 108, changing from a first position (e.g., sitting down) to a second position (e.g., standing up or lying down), wiping the person’s forehead in a manner that corresponds to the person 106 wiping off sweat, walking slow, walking fast, starting or stopping an activity such as exercising (e.g., going from running to sitting down), interaction with another person or a pet, etc. The threshold of whether the person 106 is moving slow, normal, or fast or rate of other activities may be specific to the person 106 and thus may be set accordingly.

[0069] In some example embodiments, at step 406, the method 400 includes determining whether the physical behavior detected by the Al lighting system 102 is relevant to a second system (e.g., the health monitoring system 104). For example, although the Al lighting system 102 can detect physical behaviors exhibited by the person 106 before or after changes to the lighting of the space 108, physical behaviors of the person 106 that are relevant to the health monitoring system 104 may be limited to those physical behaviors that occur within a threshold time after the change in the lighting effectuated by the Al lighting system 102. For example, the threshold time may be 30 seconds, 1 minute, or 5 minutes, or another time period that may be applicable to the type of a particular physical behavior.

[0070] Alternatively or in addition, the Al lighting system 102 may determine that some physical behaviors of the person 106 detected by the Al lighting system 102 are relevant while others are not even when occurring within the threshold time. For example, the Al lighting system 102 may receive information from the health monitoring system 104 indicating particular physical behaviors that are relevant to the health monitoring system 104. As another example, the Al lighting system 102 may receive information from the health monitoring system 104 indicating particular disease(s) (e.g., dementia) that are relevant to the health monitoring system 104, and the Al lighting system 102 may identify physical behaviors that are associated with the particular disease(s). In some alternative embodiments, the Al lighting system 102 may not use information from the health monitoring system 104 to determine whether a physical behavior detected by the Al lighting system 102 following a lighting change is relevant to the health monitoring system 104. In some example embodiments, at step 408, the method 400 includes the Al lighting system 102 sending a notification to the second system (e.g., the health monitoring system 104) that the physical behavior of the person 106 detected by the Al lighting system 102 is associated with the lighting of the space 108, where the second system monitors in the space 108 one or more physiological conditions (e.g., excessive sweating or a blood pressure spike) of the person 106, one or more physical behaviors (e.g., walking slow or screaming) of the person 106, or both. For example, the Al lighting system 102 may send the notification to the health monitoring system 104 after determining that the physical behavior detected by the Al lighting system 102 is relevant to the health monitoring system 104 as described above with respect to step 406. To be clear, the notification sent to the health monitoring system 104 may not indicate a particular physical behavior of the person 106 and may generally refer to the detection without specifying the particular physical behavior.

[0071] In some example embodiments, a notification sent by the Al lighting system 102 may include other information such as timestamp information indicating, for example, the time of the change in the lighting of the space 108, the time of detection of a physical behavior of the person 106 by the Al lighting system 102, etc. In some example embodiments, the Al lighting system 102 may not send a notification to the health monitoring system 104 if the lighting of the space 108 is changed, for example, by the person 106 manually and / or by means within the threshold time described above with respect to step 406. In some alternative embodiments, the Al lighting system 102 may send a notification to the health monitoring system 104 indicating a change in the lighting of the space 108 effectuated by the Al lighting system 102 regardless of a detection of a particular physical behavior of the person 106 triggered by the change in the lighting.

[0072] As described above, the health monitoring system 104 may monitor physiological conditions of the person 106 and / or physical behaviors of the person 106 in the space 108. Upon receiving the notification from the Al lighting system 102, the health monitoring system 104 may determine whether the notification is relevant to the monitoring of the person 106 by the health monitoring system 104. If the notification is relevant, the health monitoring system 104 may ignore or otherwise discard monitoring / detection data of the health monitoring system 104 related to the notification. Alternatively, the health monitoring system 104 may process differently (e.g., track) monitoring / detection data of the health monitoring system 104 related to the notification.

[0073] In some alternative embodiments, the method 400 may include more or fewer steps than shown without departing from the scope of this disclosure. In some alternative embodiments, the steps of the method 400 may be performed in a different order than shown without departing from the scope of this disclosure.

[0074] Although particular embodiments have been described herein in detail, the descriptions are by way of example. The features of the example embodiments described herein are representative and, in alternative embodiments, certain features, elements, and / or steps may be added or omitted. Additionally, modifications to aspects of the example embodiments described herein may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the following claims, the scope of which are to be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass modifications and equivalent structures.

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. A method (400) of managing interference between a lighting system (102) and a second system (104), the method comprising: changing (402), by the lighting system (102), one or more characteristics of a light (212, 214) resulting in a change in a lighting of a space (108); detecting (404), by the lighting system, a physical behavior exhibited by a person (106) in the space (108) subsequent to the change in the lighting; and sending (408), by the lighting system (102), a notification to the second system (104) indicating that the physical behavior of the person (106) is associated with the lighting of the space (108), wherein the second system (104) monitors in the space (108) one or more physiological conditions and / or one or more physical behaviors of the person for estimating a health status of the person, and thereby causing the second system (104) to identify, based on said notification, whether instances of the monitored one or more physiological conditions and / or the one or more physical behaviors of the person are caused by changes in the lighting of the space; and exclude said instances that are caused by changes in the lighting of the space from the estimation of the health status of the person.

2. The method of Claim 1, wherein the method comprises sending the notification to the second system (104) upon determination that the physical behavior is exhibited by the person (106) within a threshold time from the change in the lighting and / or within a threshold distance between the person and an area in the space that was affected by the change in the lighting of the space.

3. The method of Claim 2, wherein the method further comprises sending the notification to the second system (104) upon determination that no change is made to the lighting of the space (108) by the person (106) within the threshold time from the change in the lighting.

4. The method of Claims 1-3, wherein the second system is a health monitoring system configured to estimate at least one of a physical health, an emotional health, and a mental health of the person (106).

5. The method of Claims 1-4, wherein the physical behavior comprises one or more acts that indicate at least one of agitation, fatigue, depression, confusion and nervousness.

6. The method of Claims 1-5, wherein the physical behavior comprises the person changing from a first location in the space (108) to a second location in the space (108) and / or changing the person’s viewing direction from a first viewing direction to a second viewing direction.

7. The method of Claims 1-6, wherein the physical behavior comprises at least one of changing from a first position to a second position, and stopping an activity, and starting a new activity.

8. The method of Claims 1-7, further comprising determining (406) whether the physical behavior is relevant to the second system (104), wherein sending the notification to the second system is performed in response to determining by the lighting system (102) that the physical behavior is relevant to the second system.

9. The method of Claim 8, wherein determining (406) whether the physical behavior is relevant to the second system (104) is performed at based on information received from the second system.

10. The method of Claims 1-9, wherein the one or more characteristics of the light (212, 214) include at least one of an intensity level of the light and a color temperature of the light.

11. A multifunctional system (100) for a lighting control and one or more other functions in a space (108), comprising: a lighting system (102) configured to control a lighting of the space (108); anda second system (104) configured to monitor one or more physical behaviors and / or one or more physiological conditions of a person (106) in the space for estimating a health status of the person, wherein the lighting system (102) comprises a controller (202) configured to: change one or more characteristics of a light (212, 214) resulting in a change in the lighting of the space (108); detect a physical behavior exhibited by the person (106) in the space subsequent to the change in the lighting; and send a notification to the second system (104) that the physical behavior is associated with the change in the lighting, and thereby causing the second system (104) to identify, based on said notification, whether instances of the monitored one or more physiological conditions and / or the one or more physical behaviors of the person are caused by changes in the lighting of the space; and exclude said instances that are caused by changes in the lighting of the space from the estimation of the health status of the person.

12. The multifunctional system of Claim 11, wherein the second system (104) is a health monitoring system and wherein the lighting system (102) is further configured to determine whether the physical behavior is relevant to the second system (104), wherein, in response to determining that the physical behavior is relevant to the second system, the lighting system is configured to send a notification to the second system that the physical behavior is associated with the change in the lighting.

13. A controller (202) for controlling a lighting system (102), said lighting system (102) configured to control a lighting of the space (108), said controller configured to: change one or more characteristics of a light (212, 214) resulting in a change in the lighting of the space (108); detect a physical behavior exhibited by a person (106) in the space subsequent to the change in the lighting; and send a notification to a second system (104) that the physical behavior is associated with the change in the lighting, wherein the second system is configured to monitor in the space (108) one or more physiological conditions and / or one or more physical behaviors of the person (106) for estimating a health status of the person, said sending of the notification causing the second system toidentify, based on said notification, whether instances of the monitored one or more physiological conditions and / or the one or more physical behaviors of the person are caused by changes in the lighting of the space; and exclude said instances that are caused by changes in the lighting of the space from the estimation of the health status of the person.

14. A computer program comprising computer program code to cause the multifunctional system (100) of claim 11 to execute the steps of any of the methods according to claims 1-10.

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