Taiwan yesterday announced the establishment of the nation’s first smart lighting system standards to facilitate development of LED lighting and promote industry integration.
Smart lighting systems utilize information, communications and sensor technologies to detect changes in lighting conditions in the environment and automatically adjusts the light intensity.
The Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI, 工研院) said in a statement yesterday that an LED and lighting standard coordination council formed in May by six major lighting trade unions approved the passage of five smart lighting system standards.
Photo: CNA
Duann Jia-ruey (段家瑞), general director of the institute’s Center for Measurement Standards, said the five standards are: smart lighting system functions, wide area network interfaces, local area network interfaces, local area network design and lighting equipment.
These standards will facilitate vertical integration of industries, such as lighting equipment, system management platforms, lighting networks, sensing technologies and smart analysis, Duann said.
Chu Mu-tao (朱慕道), chairman of the coordination council, said setting up standards for smart lighting networks could propel the industry forward toward high-value production and standardization, which would especially benefit the LED industry.
The ITRI said the next step would be to apply to the government to make these standards the national norm and become part of the nation’s efforts to set international lighting standards.
For instance, Duann said the five standards would be referred to the International Commission on Illumination, of which Taiwan is a member, for discussion and hopefully, adoption as international standards.
If these standards are adopted worldwide, the international competitiveness of Taiwan’s lighting industry would be greatly enhanced, he said.
Promoting lighting standards that are recognized by China is also an aim, as this will help Taiwanese companies tap into China’s huge market.
Based on the Photonics Industry and Technology Development Association’s (PIDA) statistics, Taiwan’s LED components output is forecast to reach US$4.59 billion this year, down 1.7 percent from US$4.67 billion last year.
PIDA has forecast that Japan will surpass Taiwan to become the world’s top LED component manufacturer this year, with total output rising 12 percent to US$4.86 billion from US$4.33 billion last year.
South Korea is another aggressive player in the global LED industry, with its LED components output expected to total US$3.48 billion this year, up 4.6 percent from US$3.32 billion last year, the association said.
Additional reporting by CNA
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