Philips’ lighting technology for indoor navigation
A new LED lighting technology from Philips provides indoor location determination.
Light used for indoor navigation
In a Carrefour supermarket in Lille (France), Philips tests with LED lights that can be used for indoor navigation. They call it ‘light beyond illumination’ and in addition to the energy saving characteristics of LED light the technology also sends signals that can be used to find your location. All installed LED’s feature the visible light communication technology (VLC) which is invisible to the eye. If a user opens the associated app and holds the phone horizontally, it can read the VLC via the camera. If the software has located the device it tracks the location by using the lights on the ceiling.
Application
Especially in (mega) stores this can be a huge advantage. In addition, the implementation of the LEDs resulted in a saving on the energy bill by 50 percent. The navigation method can improve the shopping experience, searching for products in the supermarket could end up as a short chapter in the history books.
Other features for indoor navigation
It is a completely different approach than using iBeacons for navigation, which now is often used when indoor navigation is applied to catering businesses. Earlier we wrote about an application that uses the iBeacon technology during the Sneekweek.
Bron: En Gadget
Website: NewsCenter Philips
