{"id":7594,"date":"2017-09-19T05:16:41","date_gmt":"2017-09-19T05:16:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/designbuybuild.co.uk\/?p=7594"},"modified":"2017-09-19T05:16:41","modified_gmt":"2017-09-19T05:16:41","slug":"ist-launches-first-visual-light-communication-vlc-led-drivers-indoor-positioning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/designbuybuild.co.uk\/ist-launches-first-visual-light-communication-vlc-led-drivers-indoor-positioning\/","title":{"rendered":"IST Launches first Visual Light Communication (VLC) LED Drivers for Indoor Positioning"},"content":{"rendered":"
July 2017 witnessed the launch of the one of the world\u2019s most advanced LED drivers: the iDrive\u00ae Force 12 Hybrid+, which incorporates Visual Light Communication (VLC) capabilities to enable luminaire manufacturers and system integrators to create their own high precision, indoor location- based marketing solutions.<\/p>\n
The new Hybrid+ LED output stage has taken four production iterations and nearly a decade to perfect, in order to provide unprecedented levels of smooth, flicker-free dimming and seamless integration of optical VLC beacon technology.<\/p>\n
The iDrive\u00ae Force 12 Hybrid+ builds on IST\u2019s worldwide patent portfolio and extensive know-how to deliver the first open platform and cost-effective indoor positioning VLC drivers to enable the lighting industry to capture a large section of the burgeoning positioning market.<\/p>\n
More people than ever before are walking around with location service-enabled devices in their pockets, due to the global proliferation of smartphones, which is predicted to hit over 2.5 billion users worldwide in 2019. This opens the door for location-targeted mobile adverts, which eMarketeer estimates will generate revenues of over $15bn by 2018.<\/p>\n
VLC-based LED luminaires can be deployed for many different applications and significantly increase the value proposition of lighting within buildings. However, indoor location VLC-based marketing solutions are proving increasingly attractive in the retail sector, due to the positional accuracy achieved by VLC compared to Wi-Fi or Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) beacon technology (please see Fig.1 below).<\/p>\n
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Figure 1: Comparison of accuracy and range of positioning technologies<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Using VLC (also known as broadcast Li-Fi) technology combined with Wi-Fi and mobile sensor based positioning mitigates the need for capital expenditure and installation costs of BLE beacon based positioning systems, whilst increasing positional resolution to less than 0.5m.<\/p>\n Several leading lighting companies have already launched proprietary VLC-based positioning systems. However, the technology has proved to be extremely expensive and not readily available in the wider market, thus limiting competition and choice for end-users.<\/p>\n As a leading provider of iDrive\u00ae LED driver technology, IST decided to focus its technical resources and know-how to create an open platform VLC solution that enables literally anyone to create their own lighting-enabled location and positioning solutions, without the need to invest millions of dollars developing their own LED driver platform.<\/p>\n The iDrive\u00ae Force 12 Hybrid+ will enable the creation of feature-rich retail positioning systems to achieve:<\/p>\n Utilizing the camera and other sensors within standard mobile devices, including tablets or phones, the position of the device can be decoded from the signal sent by the luminaire.<\/p>\n The market specification requirements are very challenging for VLC-based LED drivers, including:<\/p>\n Despite these challenges, the IST team used its design experience to overcome the hurdles and develop the iDrive\u00ae Force 12 Hybrid+ solution.<\/p>\n In partnership with Artistic License Holdings Ltd, IST worked jointly to create an open VLC protocol which has been incorporated in the ALH Art-Net control protocol https:\/\/www.artisticlicence.com\/WebSiteMaster\/User%20Guides\/art-net.pdf<\/a> and allows a simple way to send VLC data to any luminaire.<\/p>\n IST is building a VLC ecosystem with partners to enable end-users to acquire turn-key solutions for a range of applications. One such partner is Canadian company Dent Electric, which is enhancing their current IoT solutions to include VLC positioning to allow end-users to gain real-time opinion and feedback through data analytics across various IT platforms, with initial focus on retail and sports venue analytics..<\/p>\n Other possible VLC applications include:<\/p>\n For more information on VLC positioning or to order your iDrive\u00ae Force 12 Hybrid+ then please contact the sales team on +44(0)121 362 1810 or email sales@istl.com<\/a> to find your nearest distributor.<\/p>\n\n
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