Smart lighting serves as a ‘vertical asset’ that provides for a platform for further IoT initiatives
CHICAGO–Coming with a clear path to return on investment and capable of serving to support broader smart city and internet of things ambitions, smart lighting is a major driver in municipal pushes to invest in smart infrastructure that can create municipal efficiencies while support quality-of-life in increasingly urbanized areas.
“I would say of the last 20 customer meetings we’ve had, smart, connected lighting seems to be where they started,” Lisa Brown, senior national director of local government in North America for Johnson Controls, told Enterprise IoT Insights during the Enterprise IoT World Event at McCormick Place in Chicago.
Johnson Controls provides technological solutions and services with an emphasis on enabling smart buildings, smart cities, energy efficiency and transportation systems. Brown described a company goal of creating “urban efficiency,” which encompasses energy, buildings, infrastructure and transportation “all tied together.”
In terms of leveraging smart lighting as a jump-off for broader smart city plans, “I think it can be the foundational place where city and county leaders can start their investment. I think it’s a clear path to a larger, holistic smart city solution.” She said the company uses the term “vertical assets” to described street lighting.
“From a vertical asset standpoint,” Brown continued, “you can manage and evolve your security platform with cameras and sensors and gunshot detection; you can evolve your monetization of data from a city standpoint where you can engage applications such as digital signage and advertising…so you can actually create new revenue streams. It’s obviously a data generator where you can do a whole host of exercises from that as well.”
