Illumination control network

Abstract

The present invention addresses the problem of providing illumination in a manner that is energy efficient and intelligent. In particular, the present invention uses distributed processing across a network of illuminators to control the illumination for a given environment. The network controls the illumination level and pattern in response to light, sound, and motion. The network may also be trained according to uploaded software behavior modules, and subsets of the network may be organized into groups for illumination control and maintenance reporting.

1 . A lighting system comprising a plurality of illuminators displaced relative to each other, each of plural illuminators comprising:
 a light source;   a sensor;   a communications interface communicating with other illuminators in a network; and   a processor responsive to the sensor, the processor controlling the illuminator;   the processors of plural illuminators configured to make illumination decisions through distributed processing across the network based on information exchange among the illuminators through the communication interfaces.   
     
     
         2 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the light source comprises a plurality of LED light sources. 
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 2 , wherein the plurality of LED light sources comprises LED light sources of at least two different colors. 
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the sensor detects an electrical parameter of the light source. 
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the sensor responds to light. 
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the sensor responds to sound. 
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 6 , wherein the processor responds to human voice commands detected by the sensor. 
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the sensor responds to motion. 
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the communications interface communicates using infrared radiation. 
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the system is configured using a handheld remote control unit. 
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 10 , wherein the handheld remote control unit uploads software modules to the system, the software modules influencing the lighting decisions of the system. 
     
     
         12 . An illuminator comprising:
 a light source;   a sensor;   a communications interface to communicate with other illuminators in a network; and   a processor responsive to the sensor, the processor controlling the illuminator;   the processor configured to make illumination decisions through distributed processing across a network of plural illuminators based on information exchange among the illuminators through the communications interface.   
     
     
         13 . A method for providing illumination comprising:
 at each of plural illuminators, emitting light from an illuminator, sensing stimuli with a sensor, and communicating with other illuminators through a communications interface; and   processing responses to the sensed stimuli across a distributed network of the plural illuminators to make illumination decisions.   
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the light source comprises a plurality of LED light sources. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the plurality of LED light sources comprises LED light sources of at least two different colors. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the sensor responds to an electrical parameter of the illuminator. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the sensor responds to light. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein the illuminator periodically stops emitting light so the sensor can measure ambient light conditions. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the sensor responds to sound. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 19 , wherein the distributed network processes responses to human voice commands detected by the sensor.