Light Bites: What’s happening in LEDs and lighting — June 14, 2022
This week, LEDs Magazine briefs readers on citywide connectivity via streetlighting and Signify technology deployed by Edzcom in the City of Tampere Finland. Meanwhile, Casambi joins the CSA Alliance, and Urban Control gets D4i certification for an LED streetlight controller.
Finland steps up smart city technology
Global lighting company Signify and edge connectivity technology provider Edzcom have announced their collaboration to deliver full connectivity to Tampere, Finland via the streetlight network linked together with Signify’s BrightSites platform. The streetlighting infrastructure, equipped with real-time sensors, cameras, and other IoT devices, will transfer high-speed data via a citywide network for smart city applications without the need to dig and lay additional fiber throughout Tampere.
Edzcom managing director Mikko Uusitalo said, “In the wake of rapid urbanization and industrialization, cities around the world are facing exponential demand for resources such as public transport, housing, water supply and sanitation. These issues cannot be ignored, and smart city projects aim to tackle them by focusing on how technology can be implemented to improve the lives of citizens and make cities more sustainable in a socially inclusive way.”
According to Signify, BrightSites leverages Interact City management software for monitoring lighting assets and energy use, in addition to broadband-equipped luminaires, smart poles, and digital smart hubs to accelerate 5G, Wi-Fi, and smart city services over a high-bandwidth wireless network.
Casambi supports Matter standard
Smart lighting controls developer Casambi has joined the Connectivity Standards Alliance, which is responsible for promulgating the Matter connectivity standard. The former Zigbee Alliance changed its name last year in order to reflect the drive toward interoperability and inclusivity for smart home and building technologies.
The Connectivity Standards Alliance is supported by members such as Amazon, Apple, Comcast, and Google, all of which are co-developing open-source code implementations for the smart home market to support various operating systems. Compatibility of manufacturers’ products has long been a concern with the abundance of connectivity standards and protocols. The final Matter specification is expected to be released this fall.
Casambi founder Timo Pakkala said, “We foresee Matter bringing substantial new opportunities, especially to the smart home space for which the interoperability has been suboptimal. It is our intention to become the smart lighting control solution for Matter. Therefore, we are fully committed to supporting the standard in the future.”
Urban Control node gets D4i nod
Smart city technology supplier Urban Control announced that its Urban Node 324 luminaire controller is the first NB-IoT and LTE-M lighting controller to receive the DALI Alliance’s D4i certification. D4i standardizes connectivity interfaces between luminaires and other electronics for interoperability between communications, controls, and power devices from different manufacturers.
Urban Control says its plug-and-play Urban Node 324 controller equips streetlights with advanced smart-city capabilities including brightness/dimming control, dynamic response to roadway activity, real-time energy monitoring, and maintenance and fault detection.
“Products such as Urban Control’s Node 324 Cellular represent a new breed of interoperable lighting controllers which are quick and easy to deploy and future-proofed from activation,” said Paul Drosihn, DALI Alliance general manager.
CARRIE MEADOWS is managing editor of LEDs Magazine, with 20 years’ experience in business-to-business publishing across technology markets including solid-state technology manufacturing, fiberoptic communications, machine vision, lasers and photonics, and LEDs and lighting.
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Carrie Meadows | Editor-in-Chief, LEDs Magazine
Carrie Meadows has more than 20 years of experience in the publishing and media industry. She worked with the PennWell Technology Group for more than 17 years, having been part of the editorial staff at Solid State Technology, Microlithography World, Lightwave, Portable Design, CleanRooms, Laser Focus World, and Vision Systems Design before the group was acquired by current parent company Endeavor Business Media.
Meadows has received finalist recognition for LEDs Magazine in the FOLIO Eddie Awards, and has volunteered as a judge on several B2B editorial awards committees. She received a BA in English literature from Saint Anselm College, and earned thesis honors in the college's Geisel Library. Without the patience to sit down and write a book of her own, she has gladly undertaken the role of editor for the writings of friends and family.
Meadows enjoys living in the beautiful but sometimes unpredictable four seasons of the New England region, volunteering with an animal shelter, reading (of course), and walking with friends and extended "dog family" in her spare time.
