iGuzzini Smart Services
Bluetooth Low energy and mesh networks
The Bluetooth protocol enables mobile devices to
communicate directly with a lighting fixture without the
need for external gateways; the fixtures can also
communicate with each other. BLE also offers the
significant advantage of being the only low-power radio
communication system and activates only when
necessary.
If we think about the growth estimates for the Internet of
Things sector, with increasing numbers of connected
devices that consequently generate growing energy
demand, it is evident that the real research objective
today is low-power electronics and improvements to
energy efficiency. For this reason, BLE is the only radio
technology that can be implemented today and is already
future-proof. The BLE is also integrated into every modern
smartphone, laptop and tablet and even modern
watches, turning it into a "zero cost" control investment.
BLE also uses a mesh network, based on a many to
many" communication mode between devices. Unlike
other wireless technologies where communication is
transmitted from a router to each node, messages in a
mesh network are transmitted from node to node.
This gives rise to a distributed and extended platform and
a conversation grid that other services can exploit, paving
the way for a wide range of possibilities that go far
beyond lighting. Beacons, for example, are Bluetooth
devices that allow activation of other services on the
network, so that smartphones can send and receive
useful information to improve the livability of a location or
optimize the use of space.
Thanks to the Bluetooth Low Energy protocol
by now included in every smartphone,
light becomes portable as well as a
communication tool
