Qualcomm Incorporated today announced that its subsidiary, Qualcomm Atheros, Inc., and LIFX, a leader in smart lighting, have collaborated to deliver a turnkey Wi-Fi® based smart lighting platform that can accelerate the development of connected lighting.

In addition to working with established lighting manufacturers such as Havells Sylvania and home networking leaders such as D-Link, Qualcomm Atheros and LIFX are also working with Arrow Electronics on global distribution to enable manufacturers of any size to quickly develop smart lighting solutions.

The platform consists of a Lighting Connectivity Module (LCM) and complete LED bulb design. Both use Qualcomm Atheros' feature-rich, low-power Wi-Fi solution (the QCA4002) to connect lighting systems directly to a home's Wi-Fi network, without the need for a hub or translator. The solutions are fully compatible with the Allseen Alliance's open-source Lighting Service Framework (LSF), which is designed to ensure interoperability with AllJoyn™ enabled smart devices in the home. The LCM is the first lighting product certified "Designed for AllSeen," allowing smart lights using the solution to quickly get the same certification.

Manufacturers have two opportunities resulting from the Qualcomm Atheros and LIFX collaboration: Established lighting manufacturers can easily turn their products into smart lights by integrating the LCM, while manufacturers entering the segment for the first time can leverage the complete LED bulb design. Both use the open source solution provided by the LSF. In addition to being controllable by a smartphone, lights using the LCM could communicate with other AllJoyn enabled devices in the home.

"Through our collaboration with Qualcomm Atheros, we are enabling the growth of a vibrant ecosystem of interoperable devices for the smart home," said Marc Alexander, chief technology officer, LIFX. "Interoperability between our lighting and many other products provides consumers with rich user experiences and helps grow the overall ecosystem. Any Designed for AllSeen TV, fridge, washing machine, audio or visual product can interact with our lights and vice versa. By integrating low power Wi-Fi connectivity into lighting solutions and leveraging the AllJoyn framework, we are making it easy for consumers to make their homes connected and smart. We are proud that our future product launches will be the first announced lighting solutions leveraging the Lighting Connectivity Module and Lighting Service Framework."

"Alongside LIFX, we are eliminating barriers for the Wi-Fi based smart lighting segment, while extending compelling experiences offered by the Internet of Everything," said Joseph Bousaba, senior director of product management, Qualcomm Atheros. "Similarly, with the Lighting Connectivity Module and the Allseen Alliance's Lighting Service Framework, we are making product entry easy and enabling manufacturers to ensure that their smart lighting products interoperate with a wide variety of systems and services within the smarthome."

"We are pairing the networking expertise provided by Qualcomm Atheros and LIFX with our nearly-century-long tradition in lighting," said Edward Lees, LED lamps SBU manager, Havells Sylvania EMEA. "By leveraging the Lighting Connectivity Module and the AllJoyn Lighting Service Framework, we can quickly enable a wide range of products in our lighting portfolio to become connected."

For home networking, consumer electronics or home appliance makers looking to provide a wide range of smarthome devices, but do not have a lighting portfolio, Qualcomm Atheros and LIFX have collaborated to provide turnkey bulb designs that can be quickly introduced. This bulb design integrates the LCM and offers all of the advantages that come with it.

"We are excited to work with Qualcomm Atheros to bring a connected lighting solution to the industry as part of the D-Link portfolio of Wi-Fi enabled smart-home devices leveraging AllJoyn," said AJ Wang, chief technology officer, D-Link.

The turnkey hardware and open source software make the solution suitable for lighting manufacturers of any size. Arrow Electronics is enabling global distribution of the solution so that anyone wishing to enter the smart lighting industry can do so quickly and easily.

"The Lighting Connectivity Module and AllJoyn Lighting Service Framework give our customers compelling and powerful tools to make smart lighting solutions that fit the needs of a diverse segment, be it those looking to add Wi-Fi connectivity to existing lighting products or even those just entering the lighting industry," said David West, vice president of global marketing and engineering for Arrow's Global Components business.

The Lighting Connectivity Module and complete LED bulb design are available now.