Streetlight Network Management via Centralized Control
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current streetlight management systems lack efficient remote control and monitoring capabilities, leading to difficulties in managing large networks of streetlights and addressing faults in a timely and cost-effective manner.
Innovation Solution
A system that includes streetlight controllers with computing devices capable of communicating with a central server via a network, allowing for remote monitoring, control, and fault detection, along with a graphical user interface for managing streetlights and sending control signals or maintenance instructions to personnel.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If streetlights are managed individually using photocells, then each streetlight can operate autonomously, but managing large networks of streetlights becomes inefficient and time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges individual streetlight control into a unified networked system where multiple streetlights are managed collectively through a central server. This allows simultaneous monitoring and control of entire networks rather than individual units, dramatically improving management efficiency and reducing the time required to address faults across the network.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a central server as an intermediary between individual streetlights and operators. This mediator consolidates status information from multiple streetlights and delivers control signals efficiently, enabling centralized management without requiring direct individual interactions for each streetlight.
2Productivity
If remote monitoring and control capabilities are implemented, then operational efficiency is enhanced, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The central server performs multiple functions including collecting status information, detecting faults, determining corrective actions, and delivering control signals. This multi-functional approach consolidates what would otherwise require separate systems into a single platform, enhancing operational efficiency without proportionally increasing overall system complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The system automatically detects faults and determines corrective actions without requiring constant human intervention. The central server autonomously monitors streetlight status, identifies issues, and generates appropriate responses, improving operational efficiency while the automation reduces the perceived complexity for operators.
3Loss of time
If fault detection and corrective action systems are automated, then maintenance time is reduced, but the initial system setup becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The system is pre-configured with fault detection capabilities and automated corrective action logic before deployment. The central server is set up to automatically monitor status information, detect faults, and determine corrective actions in advance, eliminating the need for manual fault analysis and reducing maintenance time once the system is operational.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements automated feedback loops where status information from streetlights is continuously monitored, faults are automatically detected based on this feedback, and corrective actions are determined and executed. This automated feedback mechanism reduces maintenance time by eliminating manual inspection while the systematic approach manages the complexity of fault detection.
Data Source
AI summary
This disclosure describes systems and techniques for managing streetlights. The subject matter included in this document is embodied in a method that includes receiving, at a computing device, information representative of a location and status of a streetlight included in a network of streetlights. The method also includes presenting a representation of the streetlight in a graphical user-interface in accordance with the received location and status information, and receiving information representing a selection of the streetlight for inclusion in a group of streetlights from the network. The method further includes initiating delivery of one or more control signals to the group of streetlights.