Vision

The vision of the OpenAIS project is to create an open ecosystem to enable a wider community to deliver the smartness of light. Allow easy adaptability to cater for the diversity of people and demands

Lighting systems as well as building management systems will converge to an all-IP based configuration, with IP (Internet Protocol) reaching endpoints, thus putting the Internet of Things concept at the heart of new lighting system architectures.

The end-to-end connectivity property of IP guarantees a basic interoperability.  A full-IP system automatically benefits from new developments and innovations as there is, in fact, a world-wide community at work to improve any shortcomings of IP, and to push innovations. The use of a general communication protocol rather than command and monitoring interfaces, facilitates a flexible service oriented approach. Finally, full-IP stimulates third party development, openness and convergence of technology.

OpenAIS application focus

The OpenAIS project focuses on the professional domain of offices and public buildings as a first area of validation of its vision and objectives. This sector represents a luminaire market of 2.1 billion Euro in Europe (2012) and a worldwide lighting controls market of 0.9 billion Euro (2012). It has a high potential for energy savings, improvements in office management, as well as in total cost of ownership.

The future calls for a transition from proprietary systems to open systems; openness stimulates investments and third party development leading to an ecosystem of components and services, and vendors of those. The OpenAIS project aims at establishing an open service oriented IP-based lighting architecture. It also aims at setting correspondent standards for interchangeable electronic components for SSL lighting systems.

The OpenAIS system architecture and component definition focuses on interoperability and extensibility. Interoperability ranges from the physical level of light sources, controls, sensors and network connections (wired or wireless) via the communication level (IP-based protocols) to interoperable services based on a shared and extensible data model. It is the basis for extensibility, by which a system can be extended by third party components and applications.