Interact IoT platform for data-enabled services launched

The company's flagship announcement is a new IoT platform called Interact, which is a launch pad for generating data-enabled services for customers.

Consumer highlights include a range of stylish decorative LED lamps, luminaires, as well as new partners and an outdoor range to its popular Philips Hue smart lighting system for the home.

"Our reputation for innovation is unrivalled in our industry and this year we've raised the bar even higher. Our latest LED innovations range from beautiful vintage-looking lamps to equipping some of or our most popular office luminaires to provide LiFi, a game-changing technology that allows broadband Internet through light waves," said Eric Rondolat, CEO, Philips Lighting.

"And as lighting becomes truly smart, our Internet of Things Interact platform will create data-enabled services for customers that deliver benefits beyond illumination."

IoT platform
The company announced an IoT platform, called Interact. The Interact platform is designed to handle data collected from the growing number of connected light points, sensors devices and systems. The highly secure, scalable, cloud-based platform uses sophisticated and modern data management and data processing capabilities, including machine learning, to bring sense to all manner of data - creating data-enabled services for customers that will deliver benefits beyond illumination.

Interact connected lighting systems
Interact is also the name of the connected lighting systems that will not only support customers to improve their lighting experiences but can also generate and upload data to the Interact IoT platform.  Available now are: 

• Interact City for public space lighting, roads, streets, pedestrian areas, parks and plazas
• Interact Landmark for architectural lighting
• Interact Office for offices and commercial buildings
• Interact Retail for large retail and food stores
• Interact Sports for stadiums

Later this year, Philips Lighting will also launch Interact Industry, which will be geared to the specific lighting needs of factories, warehouses and logistics centers.

Lights that guide you to your classroom
Philips Lighting has equipped Dubai's Hamdan Bin Mohammed Smart University (HBMSU) with connected LED lighting controlled by its Interact Office system. The connected lighting system supports the university's commitment to use technology to make learning environments more engaging, adaptive and immersive.

Instead of using light switches, HBMSU's lighting is controlled by: occupancy sensors in luminaires that detect people's presence, switching on and off lighting; by automatic adjustment of light levels according to the availability of natural daylight; by a smartphone/tablet app or from a central console.

Faculty staff can control light settings using a smartphone app, while students can be guided to rooms using an app that works with the company's indoor navigation technology. Interact Office is integrated with the university's Building Management System. Information on energy consumption, the performance of each light point and the occupancy of each room can be accessed on a mouse click.

Philips Lighting introduces LiFi: broadband data through light
As the lighting company for the Internet of Things, Philips Lighting is the first major global lighting company to LiFi-enable luminaires from its existing office lighting portfolio. LiFi is a two-way, high speed wireless technology similar to WiFi but uses light waves instead of radio waves to transmit data in a highly secure way.

Philips Lighting's office luminaires enabled with LiFi technology provide a broadband connection with a speed of 30Mb per second (Mb/s), without compromising lighting quality. At 30Mb/s a user can simultaneously stream several HD-quality videos while conducting video calls. Icade, the French real estate investment company, is piloting the technology in its smart office in La Defense, Paris.

The power of solar
Philips Lighting has accelerated its strategic push into solar-powered lighting with the launch of a new generation of products and systems. These include the Philips LifeLight solar lantern, which comes with a replaceable battery that extends the product's life, and an all-in-one solar street light - Philips SunStay - which combines solar panel, luminaire, charge controller and battery in one housing.

Also, illustrating the vast potential of solar lighting technology, the company announced large-scale solar-powered street lighting installations in India, and 700 sets of connected solar street lights with remote monitoring and data analysis capabilities in Thailand.

Smart Fusion Pole: quality LED lighting and high capacity mobile connectivity in a single street pole
Less than a month ago, Philips Lighting and American Tower Corporation unveiled their first Smart Fusion Pole project in the United States. The companies have developed a first-of-its-kind, aesthetically designed light pole that brings together quality, energy-efficient LED street lighting and wireless capabilities that can support services from multiple mobile network operators in a single pole.

The LED Smart Fusion Pole is designed for use in roadways, streets and parking lots and improves wireless broadband access in dense urban areas while providing quality, controllable LED lighting that can save up to 50% electricity compared to conventional lighting. The City of Huntington Beach in California is the first city to implement 200 of the Smart Fusion Poles.

Accelerating the transition to LED
Philips Lighting recently announced two new innovations to make switching to LED lighting even easier, the Philips TrueForce LED Road and the Philips CorePro LEDtube Universal T8. Philips TrueForce LED Roadis a 'plug and play' replacement SON-T LED lamp for street lighting, making it easy to upgrade existing installations to LED without having to replace the luminaire. The Philips CorePro LEDtube Universal T8 is a breakthrough range of highly affordable tubes for trade customers, making tube replacement as easy as it was with fluorescent tubes.

The company also announced the launch of its new statement LED bulb collection. The Philips deco LED collection adds a new contemporary twist to the industrial-style lighting trend and features highly-stylized, giant filament LED bulbs that are designed to be seen. The new Philips deco LED giant modern range has a unique, sleek design, perfect for any home with an industrial-chic feel.

The smoky gray giant LED bulb, with thin single vertical filament, creates a crisp and clean ambiance. The Philips deco LED giant vintage range combines a giant LED bulb with an intricate, swirling filament for a cozy and warm ambiance. The new Philips deco LED giant vintage range will be available across Europe from May 2018. The Philips deco LED giant modern range will be available across Europe from July 2018.

Philips Hue goes outdoors
Philips Hue, the world's leading connected lighting system for the home, now includes the new Philips Hue outdoor product range. The new Philips Hue outdoor products include Hue white wall luminaires; Hue white post and pedestals; a Hue white and color ambiance spot and bollard. Hue outdoor gives customers the freedom to extend Hue features and functionality to any outside area, be it a garden, terrace or balcony, whether to provide added peace of mind or to create the perfect outdoor moment. Like all Philips Hue products, the Philips Hue outdoor range is fully compatible with the Philips Hue ecosystem and works in the same way as the indoor range.

Philips Lighting also announced three new 'Friends of Hue' partners offering consumers Hue-compatible wall switches in a variety of designs, turning traditional light switches into smart controls for Philips Hue. The new Friends of Hue partners are European lighting control manufacturers Feller, Niko and Vimar.

Philips Lighting will be showcasing its innovations at Light+Building 2018, at the Philips Lighting booth in Hall 0: Forum.