The rise of the Internet of Things (IoT) is definitely pushing our technology to a new level. Now, we can combine LED lighting with sensing and data analyzing capabilities. All these bring the LED industry opportunities to connect with future technologies.

It’s not a coincidence that multinational lighting conglomerates like Philips Lighting and LEDVANCE have lately been undergoing transformations, including product mix adjustment, more investments in smart lighting, cutting jobs and quitting production related to traditional lighting.

The rise of the Internet of Things has led LED lighting to networked high-value digital lighting. Smart systems can collect information of users and environment, etc., make data analysis, and then adjust devices. Personalized and human-centric smart lighting has become the focus of future industrial development.

CIMCON Lighting announced the launch of its NearSky platform that brings the "Internet of Outdoor Things" within a city's reach by enabling a myriad of devices, sensors, and applications across a broad range of citywide and smart grid networks to further realize the vision of a true Smart City.

The TALQ Consortium certifies four outdoor lighting products as TALQ compliant. This standard enables cities and municipalities to choose future-proof, interoperable and open solutions for Smart Street Lighting and other Smart City Applications from multiple vendors.

LEDinside interviewed Lisa Brown, Senior National Director of Municipal Infrastructure and Smart Cities for Johnson Controls, on the progress of smart cities transformation.

DigitalTown, a provider of smart city portal solutions, announced the launch of a Blockchain-based Distributed Ledger for managing shared ownership of each city in its global network of city portals. The unprecedented move heralds a new era for empowering public-private partnership in the development of thriving local economies.

The Consumer Technology Association (CTA) announced that more than 450 tech executives are slated to attend the first CES Unveiled Amsterdam, tracking to become CTA’s most attended inaugural CES Unveiled event abroad. A part of the CES Unveiled series, which provide media, tech companies and key industry influencers the opportunity to gather in cities around the world and showcase their latest innovations, CES Unveiled Amsterdam will serve as a preview for the cutting-edge technology to be displayed at CES® 2018. CES Unveiled Amsterdam will be held on Thursday, October 26, 2017 at the Beurs van Berlage.

American Tower Corporation, specializing in wireless infrastructure and Philips Lighting formed an alliance to accelerate the digital transformation of urban spaces and the adoption of smart city services in the United States. The companies are developing a collocation ready, 4G/5G enabled LED smart light pole for use in roadways, streets and parking lots that will improve wireless broadband access in dense urban areas while also providing quality energy-efficient connected LED lighting.

Acuity Brands, Inc. announced its Acuity Brands Lighting, Inc. subsidiary has selected Silver Spring Networks, Inc. as a technology and channel partner for its smart street light and smart city solutions. Acuity Brands has developed and will market its DTL® DSN intelligent photocontrol, which will operate on a wireless network platform managed by Silver Spring Networks. The solution offers municipalities and utility companies enhanced functionality and adaptive control of their LED street lighting systems.

Taiwan-based LED lighting company Lite-On announced its participation in a digital cities program run by the Global Project Center of Stanford University. Through collaboration with experts in various fields including finance, city management, and infrastructure planning, it aims to tailor its solutions toward the concept of smart cities.

Silver Spring Networks announced it has agreed to work with ESB Telecoms Ltd to develop a national Internet of Things (IoT) network across Ireland. ESB Telecoms Ltd is a wholly owned subsidiary of ESB and operates a national open access wholesale telecommunications network throughout Ireland.

Sengled, manufacturing intelligent lighting products that integrate consumer electronics inside energy efficient LED lights, announced their acceptance into the LoRa Alliance, joining other technology innovators in efforts to evolve home automation to commercial scale.

Smart cities is definitely one of the latest buzzwords, together with the Internet of things (IoT), cloud computing, smart data and visible light communication (VLC). Interesting enough, it is actually the presentation of these factors integrating all together on a scale of a city. Everything in a city–transportation, communication, security, water and power supply, and other community services–through networks, computing, analysing, and data transfer, can be more efficiently managed and improved. This is how a smart city is conceived.

Telensa, the global leader in connected street lighting and Smart City applications, will host a panel discussion at this week’s Smart Cities Connect, featuring case studies from a pioneering City and Utility that have deployed connected LED Streetlights. Wayne S. Martin, the City Engineer for City of Harrisburg, PA will be presenting on how the entire city was converted to connected LED streetlighting, and the impact it has had, and Scotty M. Hutto, Lighting Services Manager at Georgia Power will be discussing the world’s largest connected LED streetlight deployment.

Urbanova, a smart city living lab in Spokane, Washington’s University District, has reached a key milestone with its Smart and Connected Streetlights Pilot, installing sensors on and collecting data from 10 streetlights across the district. Urbanova founding partner Avista will install an additional 29 LED fixtures with dimming capabilities in the fall. With the pilot, Urbanova is defining how to develop and design a living laboratory and harnessing data to gain insights, empower people and solve urban challenges in new ways.

Silver Spring Networks, Inc. today announced its first international utility-led, country-wide smart street light control program with Jamaica Public Service Company (JPS). JPS is an integrated electric utility company and the sole distributor of electricity in Jamaica serving over 600,000 customers. JPS will extend its existing Silver Spring IPv6 platform to connect up to 110,000 smart LED street lights in population centers around the island including Kingston, Spanish Town, Negril, and Falmouth. Silver Spring’s Streetlight.Vision Central Management System (CMS) will also be deployed for JPS through a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) model to control and manage the networked street lights.

Legacy high-pressure sodium street lights and the equally outdated street poles that house them are among the most expensive—and often the most expensive—line item on a city’s electricity bill. New, Smart LED Solutions from Tarsier Ltd. can reduce energy costs by 63%, increase street brightness, and, most importantly, provide intelligent nodes to create a network of smart city applications.

Smart industries and intelligent living were the main themes of the 2016 China (Chengdu) Smart Industry International Expo that kicked off Wednesday, according to a MoneyDJ report.