The discussion has moved on to how else to use all those smart nodes through the building, now that we’ve replaced the vacuum tubes with transistors. While chip makers have long been making the drivers, power supplies and other control electronics needed to run the LED lights, now companies are looking at integrating more electronic intelligence into the lighting system.

Chip makers at the lighting show were showing not just drivers, but wireless radio chips, sensors and MCUs for smart control of lighting systems, both to better reduce energy usage and to control the quality of light for different activities at different times. NEC Electronics America, for example, was showing MCUs that enabled dimming of LEDs with standard commercial dimming switches, and RFICs for wireless networking of streetlights and building lighting systems. “We’re adding intelligence to LEDs for the luminaire makers,” said Bob Pinteric, GM of the multipurpose microcontroller strategic business unit.

And adding digital intelligence to lighting was the defacto theme for the startups pitching at the associated investment forum. Redwood Systems and LUMEnergi each claimed 50 to 70% energy savings on the lighting in commercial buildings with their different approaches which enable more sophisticated automated control of the system, so brightness can be automatically adjusted in response to the amount of daylight coming in, and tuned to the task at hand. Redwood Systems takes advantage of the DC nature of LEDs to connect them with low-cost, low-voltage wiring system. LUMEnergi makes intelligent dimmable ballasts and control systems for a similar smart system, also connecting to the utility to dim lights unnoticeably when power demand is high. General Service Administration buildings in San Francisco are installing pilot systems. mSilica similarly claims better performance with less energy by smarter control of LED backlights with its mixed-signal power management ICs, that do things like regional dimming to enhance contract and reduce power use. Looking a little further out, there was buzz about integrating stereo speakers through the house in the ceiling lights, and about Telelumen’s replication of candle flame and sunsets in a luminaire billed as an iPod for light, to playback recordings of illumination.

The narrow bandwidth and tunable color of LEDs also open the way to new applications. Speakers talked about biomedical uses ranging from clearer endoscopic imaging for detecting gastric cancer to regulating circadian rhythms and slowing the progression of Alzheimers disease. Breaking up the visible spectrum could also provide more bandwidth for communications, like the RF spectrum.


Read the article as originally published at:   http://www.semi.org/en/IndustrySegments/LED/CTR_034695