Light Sensors is widely used in all different kinds of applications, no matter houses, buildings or any other places, which brings wireless and smart control of the lighting to archive a human centric lighting.
In the light sensor industry, there are broad portfolio sensors that can built-in or remote installed with the luminaries. The light sensor portfolio includes ambient light sensors, proximity sensors, RGB and XYZ color sensors, gesture sensors, etc.
LIGHT SENSOR TYPES & DEFINITION
1. Proximity Sensor
A proximity sensor is a sensor able to detect the presence of nearby objects or person without any physical contact. A proximity sensor often emits an electromagnetic field or a beam of electromagnetic radiation (infrared, microwave, ultrasonic, for instance), and looks for changes in the field or return signal. Proximity detection sensors can be used to replace a mechanical switch or to sense human gestures.
Related keywords: PIR Sensor, Microwave Sensor, Occupation Sensor, Absence sensor, Ultrasonic Sensor
2. Ambient Light Sensor
An ambient light sensor is a component in luminaires, smartphones, notebooks, other mobile devices. It is a photo detector that provides measurements of ambient light intensity which match the human eye’s response to light under a variety of lighting conditions. The functions of ambient light sensor in luminaries and smartphone is designed with different sense: For lighting, the luminaries is designed to have a constant brightness of light with both luminaries & ambient light, so, the in the lower ambient light(sunlight) condition, the more light output will come from the luminaries to achieve totally brightness constantly. While for smartphone, the more ambient light, the brighter screen needs to be. The ambient light sensors help to reduce power consumption and extend battery run-time.
There are three common types of ambient light sensor: phototransistors, photodiodes, and photonic integrated circuits, which integrate a photodetector and an amplifier in one device.
Related keywords: Daylight Harvesting Sensor
3. Ambient Light Sensor & Proximity Detection
It combines an Ambient Light Sensor (ALS) and proximity detection in a single device. The ALS provides measurements of ambient light intensity which match the human eye’s response to light under a variety of lighting conditions, and through a variety of attenuation materials. The proximity detection feature allows a large dynamic range of operation for use over short distances and behind dark glass. These devices are intended for use in mobile phones, and over longer distances for presence detection in computer displays and monitors.
4. Color Sensor
The color sensor includes both RGB (Red, Green, Blue) and high-accuracy XYZ light sensors for precise color measurement, determination, and discrimination. XYZ sensors are capable of providing xy chromaticity co-ordinates in accordance with the CIE 1931 color map.
Color sensor can be designed to measure the natural light(sunlight), and reflect the same color temperature of light, which provides real time "tuning" to match the circadian rhythm(lighting cycles) of sun. This human centric color tuning can be equally “de-tuned”, to the detriment of both health and productivity, by artificial light sources that operate contrary to these natural flows
5. Color Sensor & Proximity Detection
The color sensors combined with proximity detection provides red, green, blue light sensing and proximity detection.
6. Gesture, Color Sensors & Proximity Detection
The gesture product family performs advanced gesture detection, proximity detection, digital Ambient Light Sensing (ALS) and color sensing (red, green, blue and clear). It also implements optical pattern generation for barcode transmission and remote controls. The gesture sensor modules provide a highly integrated solution offering five essential functions to enable a touchless interface and to optimize the end user experience of communications and consumer electronics equipment. Gesture detection uses four directional photodiodes to sense IR energy emitted from the integrated LED, converting the measurements of reflected IR light into information about physical motion.
Related keywords: Gesture Control Sensor, Multi Sensor
SENSORS IN SMART LIGHTING
Sensor is the basic basic hardware device of the IoT networks control, no matter the era of 5G IoT or other communication control, sensor is the essence but it can be designed to work with different networks, like: 5G, DALI, KNX, Bluetooth, Zigbee and other other communication protocol.
Nowadays, Sensors is getting more and more widely used in human daily life. And we are enjoy the benefits from this wireless control. Different sensors can offer different solve the different applications. The future of smart lighting control, will be just a part of smart home or smart building, which need to control most of the things.
