In recent years, the lighting industry has reached a crossroads. Fluctuating raw material prices, weak exports, and declining domestic demand have left most companies in a situation where the more they produce, the thinner their profits become. The benefits brought by the widespread adoption of LEDs have largely disappeared. While “smart lighting” and “healthy lighting” are widely discussed, few initiatives have truly been implemented.
The pain points of the industry are not technological—they are logical. Products increasingly resemble mere components, and solutions are increasingly caught in price wars. R&D investment keeps climbing, yet innovation outputs are disconnected from commercial returns. Companies are caught between the fear of missing new trends and the worry that their investments might become bottomless pits.
However, new answers are emerging. AIoT is not just about “smart control”—it’s an opportunity to reshape the entire lighting value chain.
When light can learn, respond, and validate health and energy efficiency—lighting finally has the chance to move from “manufacturing” to “services.”
LEDs made light controllable; AIoT makes light capable of thinking. The second growth curve for lighting is no longer about “selling lumens,” but about delivering health and efficiency through data and scenarios.
1. Why embrace AIoT now?
- Competition shifts from “hardware stacking” to “data and services.”
- Customer goals: energy savings, comfort, health, and efficiency—not just more fixtures.
- Open connectivity (DALI-2 / Matter / Bluetooth Mesh) becomes mainstream; ecosystem advantages outweigh single-point products.
2. How should R&D focus transform?
- Divide R&D into two categories:
- Innovation R&D: algorithms, platforms, human-centric lighting (HCL)
- Product engineering: structure, integration
- Traditional fixture R&D should control costs and focus resources on high-growth potential areas.
- KPIs shift from “number of projects” to “number of patents/algorithms, reusable scenario templates, and time-to-market.”
3. Healthy Lighting (HCL): The best entry point for AIoT
- Human-centric: focus on circadian rhythm and emotion, not just brightness and energy efficiency.
- Metrics-driven: prioritize m-EDI and vertical illuminance during the day; control blue-light stimulation (CS) at night.
- Scenario-based applications: morning activation, afternoon focus, evening relaxation, nighttime blue-light suppression—forming callable “lighting recipes.”
4. From “Fixtures” to “Smart Light”
- Sensor integration: unify light, air, temperature/humidity, occupancy, and behavior data in the cloud.
- Self-learning capability: develop differentiated strategies based on time, people, and space (suitable for offices, hospitals, hotels, schools, etc.).
- Verifiable value: include energy savings, comfort, and health metrics in contracts and reports to present measurable returns.
5. How should organizations collaborate?
- Core capabilities in-house: optical algorithms, communication architecture, data standardization.
- External collaboration: co-develop with universities, medical/sleep research institutions, and BMS/LMS platforms.
- Modular design: spectral modules, drivers, sensors, layered AI design—to reduce materials and integration costs.
6. 12-Month Execution Checklist (Directly Applicable)
- Investment structure: Traditional LED lighting < 20%; AIoT / healthy light ≥ 60%; collaborative R&D ≈ 20%
- 3D KPIs: number of patents/algorithms, new LaaS contracts, circadian health improvement rate
- Innovation center: link R&D—validation—commercialization; monthly review meetings
- Connectivity standards: prioritize DALI-2 / Matter / Bluetooth Mesh; avoid proprietary protocol constraints
- Scenario assets: develop 10 “lighting recipe” templates covering offices, hotels, healthcare, education, etc.
- Pilot projects: establish at least 2 measurable demonstration sites (including baseline data and comparative reports)
- Collaboration network: join at least 1 international organization and 1 local alliance to connect standards and communication channels
- Release schedule: quarterly minor updates (algorithms/templates), milestone releases every six months
7. How to achieve commercial value?
- Shift from selling products to delivering results: use “metric achievement” and “continuous optimization” as selling points, charging monthly or annually for services (LaaS).
- Build a moat with patents and algorithms: increase solution reuse and expand gross margins.
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