Marc Alexander and Brian Vogelsang, chair and contributor to the Alliance’s Connected Lighting Working Group, discuss the latest technical milestone for the initiative and the impact on the Internet of Everything ecosystem. 

Connected lighting is a major area of opportunity in the Internet of Everything. That’s why the AllSeen Alliance this year created a Connected Lighting Working Group to collaborate on an AllJoyn service framework for IP-enabled LED light bulbs to work in creative ways with each other and a variety of devices such as televisions, home security systems, and door locks. Only eight months after the Working Group was formed, the first software release of the framework is now available.

This pace of innovation and rate of software development demonstrates members’ commitment to pushing the ball forward on connected lighting and is a true testament to the power of open-source communities like the AllSeen Alliance.

As a refresher, the Connected Lighting Working Group was formed with the mission to collaborate on an open framework to change the user experience for lighting in homes and businesses. The AllJoyn Lighting Service Framework (LSF) is that framework, providing an open, common way for devices to communicate with AllJoyn-based connected lighting products, regardless of manufacturer.

We probably don’t need to state the obvious, but the impact on the lighting industry is huge. Open and interoperable lighting is no longer just a promise; it’s a reality.

  • Lighting manufacturers can make their products not only work with each other but interact and react with other connected things; and
  • Third-party application developers have a common interface (API) to communicate with lights across manufacturers.

What does this mean to consumers? Everything from brightness and saturation to colors and customized settings can be easily connected and controlled with the push of a button.  That’s a vivid example of how the Internet of Everything can create new scenarios for the devices and objects around us to make our lives easier and make even a light switch seem exciting.

Take a look at some of the features the Lighting Service Framework offers:

  • Lamp details: Includes lamp-specific metadata such as make/model, lamp type, min/max voltage, wattage, lumens, etc.
  • Controls: On/Off, brightness, hue, saturation, and color temperature
  • Presets: Customized preferences by the user using any combination of controls
  • Groups: Lamps can be grouped and controlled together. You’ll no longer need to walk through the house to turn on/off all the lights.
  • Scenes: Save preferences for a particular mood or occasion. Dinner parties and movie nights just got easier!
  • Effects: Allow LSF-enabled lamps to be used for notification purposes by other devices, for example pulsing the lights when someone presses the doorbell.   
  • Events: Allow the LSF to notify other devices and applications when Scene is applied and react accordingly
  • Actions: Allow scenes in the LSF to be discovered, introspected, and easily invoked by other devices and apps

At the inaugural AllSeen Alliance Summit this month, the Connected Lighting Working Group talked a lot about the technical progress made to date and the work ahead of us. The beauty of open source is that anyone and everyone can contribute and help transform technology. That’s where you come in. We’re eager to grow our brain’s trust and see what we can accomplish in the year ahead.

The possibilities for a connected experience are truly limitless, especially if we’re all working together. There are plenty of ways to share your voice, and expertise or find a path to collaborating with us. Here are a few to get you started:

Be sure to check out this video on the Alliance’s Connected Lighting initiative to learn more:

We look forward to connecting! @brianvogelsang and allseen@lifx.co