Lighting Sensor Mesh Integration for Wiring-Free Illumination Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing lighting systems lack the ability to consider environmental characteristics for illumination control, requiring complex integration with IT infrastructure or additional wiring for sensor installation, and pose privacy and security risks with high-bandwidth communication.
Innovation Solution
A sensor device using a wireless personal area network (WPAN) protocol, such as Bluetooth or ZigBee, is integrated into a lighting system's mesh network to monitor and provide environmental data directly to lighting devices, allowing low-bandwidth, low-power communication for intelligent illumination control without needing additional infrastructure or wiring.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If sensor device is integrated with additional wiring or IT infrastructure, then environmental monitoring capability is improved, but device complexity and installation complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The sensor device is designed to perform multiple functions: environmental monitoring (presence, position, daylight detection) and wireless communication within the existing lighting system's mesh network. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for separate wiring or IT infrastructure integration, as the sensor device utilizes the already-deployed wireless mesh network for data transmission.
Solution Approach 2:
The sensor device acts as an intermediary component that bridges environmental sensing and lighting control through the wireless mesh network. It processes sensor data locally and transmits only relevant information (presence, position, daylight levels) to lighting devices, avoiding the need for direct integration with complex IT infrastructure while enabling intelligent illumination control.
2Loss of information
If high-bandwidth communication is used for sensor data transmission, then data transmission capability is improved, but privacy and security risks increase
Solution Approach 1:
The communication parameters are optimized for the specific application needs rather than using high-bandwidth protocols. The sensor device transmits only essential environmental data (presence, position, daylight levels) at appropriate update rates, matching the actual information requirements of the lighting control application. This reduces communication bandwidth usage and minimizes privacy and security exposure while maintaining effective lighting control.
3Device complexity
If sensor device communicates via wireless mesh network, then installation complexity is reduced, but communication bandwidth is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The sensor device extracts and transmits only the most relevant environmental information needed for lighting control (presence, position, daylight levels) rather than transmitting all raw sensor data. This selective data extraction reduces communication bandwidth requirements while providing sufficient information for intelligent illumination control through the wireless mesh network.
Data Source
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AI summary
The present invention provides a method for using a sensor device in a lighting system. Communication in the lighting system is performed via a wireless mesh network according to a wireless personal area network (WPAN) protocol. The sensor device comprises a sensor, such as a camera sensor, for monitoring an environment of the sensor device, a processing unit for determining information on the environment by processing raw data of the sensor and a communication module for wirelessly communicating according to the WPAN protocol. The method comprises: providing, by the communication module of the sensor device, the information on the environment to the lighting system via the wireless mesh network of the lighting system, and using, by the lighting system, the information on the environment, which is provided by the sensor device via the wireless mesh network, for controlling one or more devices of the lighting system.