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Internet of Things: Could the Gateway be the Light Above Your Head?

The Internet of Things is coming. Your toaster may not ever "talk" to your toothbrush, but certainly systems in both homes and commercial spaces will get smarter in the near future.

But how is this going to work? As devices such as thermostats need to be replaced, they can be upgraded to smart versions that will communicate with a central hub, enabling energy savings as they are used more efficiently. However, this could take a long time.

An easier way could be right above your head - the lights. Right now most homes and businesses have "dumb" lights. Sure, we can clap them on or off, or even dim them, but they have the potential to be much, much smarter with the addition of sensors and wireless connectivity. Add to this LED, or Solid State, Lighting (SSL), which is coming down drastically in price, and you have a recipe for a comprehensive conversion to an IoT system which can lower energy consumption and increase security.

But how do we get there? Is the main hurdle the controls or is it people? In order to have Smart Lighting do we need smart people to deploy the systems, or do we need better controls that are more "plug and play" and easily installed? What type of systems should manufacturers be developing in order to bring us from where we are today to the ideal future where IoT is everywhere?

Semico Research and MCA are hosting a Smart Lighting event in Santa Clara on April 23. This event will explore the issues surrounding the IoT implementation, with a focus on smart lighting. A panel, entitled "Smart Lighting: The Gateway to IoT?", will be led by Konstantinos Papamichael of the UC Davis CA Lighting Technology Center.   

April 23rd, 2014

Semico Smart Lighting IMPACT Event: Brilliant Opportunities 

for Building Automation 

Biltmore Hotel & Suites, Santa Clara, CA

Register Today!  Only a few days left!

Panel members include:

Derry Berrigan, Chief Innovation Officer, Light Think Studios

Danny Yu, CEO, Daintree Networks

Jason Posselt, Senior Director of Product Management, Intematix

James Zhai, Lightera (Luminus Devices)

Michael Poplawski, PNNL

In addition to the panel, the event will feature keynotes from Semico Research, Cisco, and PG&E.  If you are an architect, LED manufacturer, a system designer or in building planning, plan to attend this event on Wednesday, April 23, 2014 at theBiltmore Hotel in Santa Clara, California.

For more information contact:

Joanne Itow                       

602-997-0337 Opt #2                      

joannei@semico.com 

 

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