AI Case Study
Manchester City Council bringing smarter lighting to parking lots with advanced analytics and IoT
With over 7.5 million street lights in the UK much energy and cost is wasted through lighting streets that are quiet with no traffic or pedestrians.
Industry
Public And Social Sector
Public Services
Project Overview
"Cisco, Holophane and Tvilight collaborated to bring a new smart lighting system to Manchester’s parking spaces.
The sensors in Tvilight CitySense controllers split the area around them into 4 cones. In each separate cone it identifies motion and responds by increasing the brightness of the corresponding light.
This generates a ‘bubble of light’ effect, in which lights are turned up in time with a person’s progress along their route.
The space in front of you will be lit just before you get to it; equally, the space behind you will be dimmed as you move further from it (thought you won’t have to walk into darkness and you won’t leave darkness directly behind you).
The sensor also has motion compensation so that it won’t be triggered by wind, moving tree branches, or animals. These and other similar interferences are filtered out, and the smart sensors will only respond to human presence.
It’s possible to implement smart lighting across city streets that have been around for years, which is a far more cost-effective means for delivering smart lighting at scale."
Reported Results
"By reducing the amount of time the lights are on at full beam, you can save vast amounts of money."
Other benefits include less light pollution, residents feeling safer at night, a more aesthetically pleasing light that "won’t disorientate them by flashing between darkness and light."
Technology
Function
Operations
General Operations
Background
"In the UK alone it’s estimated that there are 7.5 million street lights, not counting lights on buildings, shop fronts or traffic lights.
But illuminating all these lights can be hugely expensive and energy-consuming. And it’s inefficient; sometimes street lamps are switched on even though the road is quiet and there’s nobody around."
Benefits
Data