TiL Forum: Practical Hints and Innovative Application of the Technologies

TiL Forum: Practical Hints and Innovative Application of the Technologies

The TiL 2017 Forum targeted planners, architects and lighting designers. The track also proved to be of interest for sales and marketing people learning from technicians and understanding the systems better. This complement to the technical LpS program was well adopted by the audience. The following two summaries will exemplary give an idea about the bandwidth of the lectures.

Martin Woolley, Bluetooth SIG
Martin Woolley, Technical Program Manager at Bluetooth SIG, gave insight in the recently adopted Bluetooth mesh networking standard and its application. He gave a short introduction in the evolution of Bluetooth and explained the main advantages of wireless systems over wired systems in general. Then he emphasized that the Bluetooth (BT) technology is a standard which spans all layers of a full protocol stack, and BT mesh was especially designed to satisfy the demands of lighting. He explained that controllers which link sensors and lights are software components without need for external controller units. Mr. Woolley especially highlighted that lights could act as beacons and broadcast a unique ID, and therefore allows way finding unexplored applications for use in large buildings, giving some already implemented examples. But he also showed the steps of provisioning and configuration: As require “provisioning” to add them to the network this is performed using a smartphone or tablet and an application. A Bluetooth device which has joined a mesh network becomes known as a node that will be further configured. He furthermore explained the publish/subscribe communication model and the mandatory BT mesh security standard that cannot be reduced, consisting of encryption and authentication, separate security for network and each application, area isolation, message obfuscation, protection from replay and trashcan attacks and secure device provisioning. The easy understandable lecture gave a perfect overview of the technology and the application of BT mesh.

Helena Gentili, Helena Gentili Lighting Design 
At the other hand, Dr. Helena Gentili, lighting designer and professor at the Politecnico di Milano, informed the technicians and industry about the work of designers and how they could contribute to the society and how to develop better products. Dr. Gentili emphasized that the designer’s interpretation of the problem and related solutions given should be one of several viewpoints within a multidisciplinary team. She also pointed out that the need to create and understand new forms of innovation in ICT (Information and Communication Technology) leads to new questions for a redefinition of the designer’s role. She explained that lighting design is both an integrally functional and a distinctively aesthetic discipline. Ms. Gentili also recognized new roles for lighting designers, for instance adopting the role of a facilitator or guide rather than acting as the singular creator. This places the designer in a new mediator role, requiring new skills than previously evident. Finally she also warned: “Lighting is an innovative tool, but if not applied with regards the context and related to the human perception it can become a threatening weapon,” and she postulates, “lighting design has a multidisciplinary approach, which crosses the boundaries between art and science, humanities disciplines and technology.”

The first TiL program convinced even sceptics who could not imagine that the organizers who are known for their technical expertise could set up a valuable program for architects, planners and designers. From cases studies to straight forward installation advices, from future outlooks for the lighting business to the challenges and chances of IoT, from emotions to IT, several hot topics were covered.

The 2017 program received enthusiastic feedback with a total of 74% of attendees rating it from very good to excellent. It is our aim to continue to improve this standard at the TiL 2018 and to live up to the expectations of our forum attendees, the industry and research sectors as a whole.

Call for Speakers for TiL 2018
You can help us with that by sharing your professional knowledge in a lecture at the TiL 2018.
Submit your abstract by February 16^th 2018.

We look forward to receiving many interesting submissions!