Quote:
Originally Posted by BWChicago
I feel like in a few years, the technology will mature to a point where you can do much more adaptive control of the lighting - dimming or brightening, changing the color temperature (or even color)... things that would be more efficient and less intrusive. Maybe after a certain time of night, the side streets get dimmer if there's no motion detected. Or if there's an emergency call, the lights go to full brightness. And the city will have already completed the transition and missed that opportunity. Looks like Glasgow has pilot projects like this. http://futurecity.glasgow.gov.uk/int...reet-lighting/
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The city is/has already investigated technology that would allow more central/remote control over lighting and allow for some of the features you are describing. There was an RFP from either DEO or CDOT within the last year or so that looked into "smart lighting" and other smart technology options. Some of this was also explored as part of the Fulton Market streetscape project (which will have LED Davit Arms, but no smart controllers). It's actually a pretty simple hardware addition to the LED lighting package, and basically involves attaching a small wireless puck to the top of each fixture that can send/receive data. The more complicated upgrade is building a network of wireless receivers/transmitters to bring info/data back to a central location, and getting the city to agree on a single type of software to control them.
The big barrier for Chicago with all of this smart tech in general seems to be the proprietary nature of these systems and lack of standardization. There are different companies making these systems, but none of their technology is compatible with their competitors. The city won't single-source something like this, so they need the industry to standardize things a bit so they can use parts from various manufacturers, much like they do with the current fixtures and poles.