Atrius: Getting the Most Out of the Internet of Things

June 30, 2017 Neil Egan

Nearly 60 million square feet.

That’s the current commercial footprint covered by Acuity’s Internet of Things (IoT) sensory network installations. Over one million sensors feed critical data to software applications used by decision-makers – from facilities managers to marketers, HR to logistics – to bolster their business.

The point is: We are not new to IoT. While we have recently launched our AtriusTM brand, which consolidates our portfolio of IoT solutions and our innovative Atrius software platform, we have been leaders in this transformative space for some time. We’re simply building on those assets and expertise, to better serve customers at any stage of IoT deployment.

A recent NewsBlog article described, broadly, how we are now better positioned to help clients navigate and optimize IoT. With this article, we dig deeper into the details of what Atrius can do to improve business performance.

Smart lighting, equipped with sensors and network connectivity, is the perfect instrument for recording what is happening in the world around us. It is ubiquitous, laid out in a dense grid, and has a dedicated power source. All data sources – sensors, devices or even people – are in close proximity to lighting and can deliver business-critical information.

We have several Atrius offerings and tools to build IOT solutions on top of the data collected from our LED lighting and building management systems.

First the Atrius Sensory Network. Luminaires and network access devices (like routers or switches) that are enabled with Atrius lay the foundation for scalable IoT infrastructure, and turn lighting systems and connected building management systems into an extensive sensory network. It unlocks the business data that exists in a space.

Fully designed for IoT, the Atrius Platform takes that data and puts it to use by distributing built-in software services throughout the IoT infrastructure. Importantly, this means a business can garner new insights from data without having to add dedicated software developers to the effort.   

The platform comprises four essential services:

  • Atrius Navigator leverages two types of highly-accurate beaconing technologies built into the luminaires’ components -- Visual Light Communications (VLC) and Bluetooth® Low Energy (BLE) -- to enable pinpoint indoor positioning, within four inches of accuracy. Think of the benefits – making customer care more efficient by deploying sales help where needed, locating products on shelves to ensure they are fully stocked, or providing customers with indoor directions within a vast department store via mobile devices.  
  • Atrius Spaces leverages occupancy data captured via lighting control networks to determine exactly how buildings are being used. It offers insights into tenant or employee occupancy and space usage within a physical room, floor or building. That information can be used to optimize space layout and resources, real time- and cost-savers for rapidly-changing businesses. 
  • Atrius Assets manages critical equipment and resources for real-time location and status monitoring. This can include a mobile asset like a forklift, a hospital crash cart or even a badge-wearing employee. Knowing their precise location and movements, managers can make better use of those physical assets – or even help employees during an emergency to evacuate.
  • Finally, Atrius Insights is a set of rich geospatial analytics and visualization tools for quicker, actionable decision-making based on the aforementioned data. It has particular relevance in retailing, providing dwell time analysis, path analysis and heat mapping to optimize roots, reduce checkout lines and improve workflow.

Now is the ideal time to optimize IoT. As companies convert to LED, they generate enough energy savings to allow for simultaneous IoT infrastructure installation. With shorter payback periods, companies can operationalize a fully-functioning, lighting-based digital network to really turbocharge their business.

60 million square feet. And growing …

To learn more, visit http://www.acuitybrands.com/solutions/internet-of-things/atrius

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