A full-spectrum supplier of professional and architectural lighting solutions, Felio Sylvania supplies state-of-the-art products and systems to public, commercial and private sectors around the world. Sylvania delivers intelligent building solutions through its SylSmart digital solutions based on qualified bluetooth® mesh, which offers highly efficient, reliable, secure and data-rich solutions. The products are used in a wide variety of industrial, commercial and consumer applications, including logistics, office, retail, hospitality, museums and galleries, education and homes.
I recently had the opportunity to speak with Edward Lees, Head of Technical Product Development – Digital Solutions and Services for Feilo Sylvania International, about new trends in Bluetooth networked lighting control in 2022 and what to expect in 2023.
Q&A with Edward Lees from Sylvania
What trends in Bluetooth technology are you most noticing when it comes to networked lighting control?
“…the integration of Bluetooth technology in lighting products and accessories is now…almost a requirement.”
From 2021 to 2022, wireless and Bluetooth adoption has skyrocketed® technology. I strongly believe that the historical perception of Bluetooth technology as we knew it will be removed from our smartphones and become more widely accepted as a viable solution for domestic, commercial and industrial applications. From this starting point, the integration of Bluetooth technology in lighting products and accessories is now, more than ever before, almost an expected requirement. There are still many challenges in changing a 100+ year old industry through digitization that need to be addressed, but the future looks bright.
What do you expect the new trends in 2023 to be for Bluetooth technology in networked lighting control?
Interoperability and the ability to backhaul data from qualified Bluetooth® mesh lighting control systems will be the biggest change in lighting in 2023. Intelligent buildings will increasingly require environmental sensing and processing at the edge. But getting the data from those devices from different vendors can be challenging and slow the adoption of intelligent lighting systems. It could also breed animosity for what should be a great opportunity to increase our buildings.
By leveraging the ubiquitous and ubiquitous nature of lighting, we can collect a large amount of data from various sensors and provide a gateway to the internet with no dramatic deployment requirements and minimal disruption. In the long term, lighting will be combined with Bluetooth technology to enable service delivery in the form of asset location services, and in particular, corner of arrival (AoA) technology will help strengthen lighting as the digital backbone of the building.