We introduce a simple, modular and auxiliary safety system that relies on two technologies: LED lighting fixtures and microprocessors and sensors, that are becoming more and more reliable and affordable. Here we present the main concepts behind the system and highlight some of its immediate applications. The strength of our project is its ease of installation and absence of specific requirements - the setup is the same of an ordinary lighting fixture - and the capability of bringing about valuable data and cost savings, even when considering only its most basic configuration. Furthermore, in a more complex setup aimed at more sophisticated applications it can be paired with external sensors or other components and become the key part of more complex IIoT systems.
The transition from traditional lighting fixtures to LED based ones has been driven primarily by the cost savings associated with LED technology. Part of the savings are due to the higher efficiency as measured by lumens emitted per Watt consumed. Another intrinsic characteristic of a LEDs is their longer expected lifetime when compared to almost all traditional lighting technologies. This greatly reduces maintenance costs which in many settings can produce the greatest savings.
In civilian and industrial applications numerous lighting fixtures are augmented with other features to offer, beside the traditional purpose of a lighting fixture (i.e. emitting visible light), additional functions. The main example are lighting fixtures featuring the capabilities of measuring via sensors some characteristics of the environment in which they are installed and of being remotely controlled, either manually or as part of an automated system. The other fundamental characteristics is the ability of the lighting fixture to communicate the captured data to a central hub over a network. Such communications, especially in civilian applications, are often performed over wireless technology, due to its lighter infrastructure and flexibility.
