Smart LED lighting to be pioneered by Philips and Vodafone
The agreement, which will see Vodafone a global Internet of Things (IoT) managed connectivity partner, is set to use the phone company’s world-leading machine-to-machine (M2M) network to connect individual light points, while every connected street lamp will contain a Vodafone M2M SIM, enabling city authorities to monitor and manage the lights with the Philips CityTouch system.
The system allows city authorities to create an infrastructure that is easily scalable, and will be able to support other smart city applications in future, while also allowing engineers to check performance, identify faults and control the lighting remotely.
Bill Bien, SVP, Head of Strategy and Marketing, at Philips Lighting, highlights how just under 12 per cent of the world’s street lights are LED and less than 2 per cent are connected.
“We are at the start of a new era which will see highly energy efficient connected street lighting become the backbone of most smart cities. Robust, reliable wireless connectivity will help make this happen, linking streetlights with sensors, devices and management systems,” he said.
“By partnering with Vodafone we can work together to take light beyond illumination, helping to make cities more energy efficient, more liveable and giving people an increased sense of safety.”
The system is designed to achieve energy savings above those made by using LED lighting, as the connected lights can be dimmed or turned up as required, while also boasting reduced maintenance cost and time from days to hours using real-time information on the status of each light point, along with automatic network setup and commissioning.
Erik Brenneis, Vodafone M2M Director, added: “Lighting plays a key role in the smart city. Our agreement with Philips will see this technology transforming cities across the world backed by Vodafone's world-leading innovation, technologies and networks.”
