Philips Launches LED Lighting for Indoor Navigation

Dutch diversified technology company Philips is piloting an intelligent lighting system that adds a geomatics dimension to personalised shopping. The indoor GPS solution uses intelligent LED in-store lighting to communicate location-based information to shoppers via a smartphone app. The lighting communicates with the app to send relevant special offers and information to shoppers depending on where they are in the store.

The lighting system, which is currently being piloted with retailers, was demonstrated at Euroshop 2014, the world’s leading retail show in Düsseldorf, Germany, taking place from 16 to 20 February.

With the connected retail lighting system Philips aims to benefit shoppers by giving them greater personal control of their shopping experience. Retailers will profit by building customer loyalty and sales by providing targeted information and discount coupons at their precise position in the store, when shoppers need it most and are most receptive. Retailers will also benefit from Philips’ energy-efficient LED lighting which provides improved lighting levels and lower electricity bills.

The beauty of the system is that retailers do not have to invest in additional infrastructure to house, power and support location beacons for indoor positioning, said Gerben van der Lugt from Philips Lighting. The light fixtures themselves can communicate this information by virtue of their presence everywhere in the store.

Positioning Grid

The system works by using lighting fixtures that form a dense network that not only provide high-quality light but also acts as a positioning grid. Each fixture is identifiable and able to communicate its position to an app on a shopper’s smart device. This enables the shopper to get information related to his or her position in the store as they move around and location-based services to be triggered. Communication with the smartphone is by Visual Light Communications. 

Mexican meal

If a shopper plans to make a Mexican meal for dinner, the app on their smartphone can serve as a ‘personal shopper.’ It can point him or her to the aisle where they would find a jar of guacamole, or, if they preferred to make it fresh, plot a route through the aisles to the avocados, tomatoes, onions, chilies and limes. As the shopper approaches various products, the app could also introduce new brands available in the store or make suggestions for alternate recipes. 

See here an infographic of this new indoor navigation solution.

Image courtesy: Caden Crawford/Flickr.