again environmental lighting

A lighting network that serves the best light based on weather.

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Inspiration

I was in the dorms and the provided .basic lighting was just depressing. I didn't want to buy cheap dropshipped lights from aliexpress and the dorms didn't allow IoT devices like Phillips Hue. This problem led me to build my wireless lighting network that doesn't require any pairing or internet connection to use.

What it does

This weekend I built a remote for the system that simulates changing environmental variables. It currently supports time (measured through ambient sunlight) and temperature (simulated with a knob). This remote is a proof of concept and I want to switch it eventually to drop in values from a basic weather api call. It uses a simple weighted model to convert the temperature in F and ambient light on a scale of 0-1023 to R B values for the lights to display.

How we built it

I have been working on the lighting hardware amd communication interface for almost a year. This weekend I breadboarded the remote together and developed the model that would convert the temperature and measured light to RGB values. I first simulated the light that I wanted, then use the regression model to develop equations to take in any values for temperature and light beyond what I was able to do.

Challenges we ran into

I ran into challenges with developing the model. It is not a linear model as the RGB values didn't follow linear curves corresponding to either the light or temperature changing.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

I am proud of the simulation that I built as the actual sensors could be easily dropped in, if I had them, and the remote could be deployed today. It could be used today to optimize for the most ideal colors of light completely automatically on any fixture supported by my network.

What we learned

I learned about the most ideal combinations of color temperature and brightness to optimize the vibes of a space.

What's next for again environmental lighting

I hope to refine my lighting fixtures to be scalable manufactured. I also want to develop more remotes that can be used to interface more easily with this system. I want this system to be the gateway to easy to deploy high quality lighting that responds to your mood and the environment. I want to connect health sensors (i.e. from an apple watch) to manipulate (positively) your mood in real time, i.e. use light to calm you down if your watch thinks your getting anxious.

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