DOI: 10.

2478/sbeef-2021-0002

SMART LIGHTING SYSTEM

E.M. DIACONU
Valahia University of Targoviste, Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Electronics and Information Technology
E-mail: [email protected]

Abstract. This paper proposes a system that allows the control switches similar to the classic ones, but this time they are
of the lights in a house, building/edifice. The system can be magnetic and battery-based. They are called "variators"
controlled by an application that is made in MIT App Inventor and can be placed anywhere, with a simple adhesive tape.
for mobile devices that use Android OS(operating system). The A single dimmer can control up to ten bulbs at a time, with
application sends data, via Bluetooth, to the control center, the
control center powers on the selected light by turning it on and
a range of over 12 meters. The system (e.g Figure 1)
setting its intensity based on the user preferences. The control presented in this paper is made out of three major
center is made from an Arduino Nano programing board, the components:
signal used for powering the lights and setting the brightness - Arduino Nano that is used as the light system control.
is a PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) signal. The system - Bluetooth HC-05 module
contains the Arduino Nano board, Bluetooth HC-05 module - Four LEDs for the lighting posts.
for communication with the mobile application and four
LED’s that are used to simulate the lights.

Keywords: Arduino, Android, Smart lighting system.

1. INTRODUCTION

Lately, we have been hearing more and more about "smart

lighting", about how smart lighting helps urban
agglomerations make the transition to "smart cities" and
companies become more efficient. Few of us know,
however, what intelligent lighting actually means, how it Figure 1. Block diagram.
works and what are the benefits it brings to our homes, the
cities we live in or the companies we work for. Smart 1.1 Arduino Nano
lighting allows you to remotely control, usually through an
application installed on your mobile phone or tablet, lights
in a larger or smaller space (city, home, office, etc.). You
can control the intensity of the light, the color emitted by
the bulbs and, in some cases, you can even put music in
the room, if the bulb comes in the package and with a built-
in micro-speaker. In other words, you can quickly get the
ideal atmosphere for a movie, a romantic dinner, for
reading your favorite book or for a restful sleep. Smart
lighting uses a system that connects the smart bulbs to a
hub connected to a router. It allows other connected Figure 2. Arduino Nano board.
devices (such as your mobile phone or tablet) to
communicate with and control the bulbs. There are also Arduino Nano (e.g Figure 2) is a small development board
systems that do not need a hub and can connect directly to (18 x 45 mm) and has the technical characteristics similar
Wi-Fi/Bluetooth. It should also be mentioned that to the Arduino Uno development board, the only
intelligent lighting systems cannot be controlled differences being the size and the USB programming /
exclusively through applications. Some also allow the use power port. The processor is Atmega328p with a Clock
of voice assistants. The Apple HomeKit, the Echo from speed of 16 MHz The Arduino Nano development board
Amazon or the Home from Google all have voice supports a supply voltage between 5/7 V - 12 V and has 6
assistants that can be used to control even the smart bulbs analog pins / 14 digital pins of which 6 pins support PWM
in a building. Smart lighting also cancels the notion of the (pulse width modulation). The EEPROM memory is 1 kB
"switch": when you enter a room, the sensors will detect in size and the SRAM memory is 2 kB. The Arduino Nano
your presence and turn on the light automatically, without has a FLASH memory of 32 kB and the communication
you having to do anything else. We also talk about mobile with the Nano board can be done using various sources,
phones and tablets, becoming intelligent wireless switches such as using an additional Arduino board, a computer or
that remotely fulfill the role of switch. There are also smart otherwise using other microcontrollers. The

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microcontroller that is used by the Nano board

(ATmega328) provides serial communications (UART
TTL). This can be accessed on the digital pins such as TX
and RX. The Arduino software includes a serial monitor
that allows the transmission and reception of information
from the board with easy textual information.
Programming an Arduino Nano can be done using
Arduino IDE software. The ATmega328 microcontroller
on the Nano comes pre-programmed with a bootloader.
This bootloader allows you to load new code without
using an external hardware programmer. This can be done Figure 4. Conventional LED parts.
with the STK500 protocol., here the bootloader can be
avoided and the microcontroller program can be achieved Light emitting diode (e.g Figure 4) is very commonly
using the serial programming header on the circuit or known as LED. The light emitting diode (LED) is a
ICSP (In-Circuit -Serial-Programming) with an Arduino semiconductor diode which emits light at the direct
ISP(In-System-Programmer). polarization of the p-n junction. The effect is a form of
electroluminescence. An LED is a light source on a small
1.2 Bluetooth HC-05 area (less than 1mm square) often with an optical system
added to the chip to shape the radiation and aid in
reflection. The color of the emitted light depends on the
composition and conditions of the semiconductor material
used, and can be infrared, visible or ultraviolet. Otherwise,
in addition to lighting, interesting applications include the
use of UV LEDs to sterilize water, disinfect devices and as
a larger light source to enhance plant photosynthesis.

2. SMART LIGHTING SYSTEM

In Figure 5 we can see the schematic of the PCB for the

Figure 3. Bluetooth HC-05. smart lighting system board that is made from Arduino
headers, Bluetooth header, led connectors and the
HC-05 (e.g Figure 3) is an easy-to-use module in Arduino schematic for the lights assembly and in Figure 6 and
projects. Its default configuration is in Slave mode, named Figure 7 we have the PCBs.
HC-05, and the serial interface settings are compatible
with the Arduino's default settings (Baud Rate 9600, no In Figure 5 we have the schematic of the PCB for the
parity, 8 data bits, 1 stop bit). The module can be found in smart lighting system control board and the schematic for
the 4-pin version (VCC, GND, RX and TX), or in the 6- the lights assembly.
pin version, which allows the configuration and
verification of the status through the program.

Technical specifications:
- Supply voltage: 3.6V - 6V
- Consumption: 30mA
- Coverage radius: max. 100m
- Uses the standardized IEEE 802.15.1 protocol
- It can be operated as both Master and Slave
- Baud Rate: 9600, 19200, 38400, 57600, 115200,
230400, 460800

Bluetooth is a standardized protocol for data

communication using the 2.4 GHz radio frequency. The
2.4 GHz band does not require a license to operate, and is
also used by other wireless communication protocols, Figure 5. PCB schematic.
such as ZigBee or Wi-Fi. As more and more peripherals In Figure 6 we have the control board that is used for
become wireless, we are never far from the Bluetooth controlling the LED assembly. The control board is made
technology we can now find in phones, laptops, from: power connector (1) that is used to supply power to
headphones, portable speakers, video game controllers, the Arduino Nano developing board, components and
and more. LEDs, Arduino Nano connection headers (3,4) that are
used to securely connect the developing board, Bluetooth
1.3 LED module header (2) that is used to connect the HC-05

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module and the LED connection pins (5) that are used to
supply power and control the LEDs.

Figure 8. Smart lighting system.

3.1 Software application

Figure 6. PCB control board.
The control interface (e.g Figure 10) is made from 4
In Figure 7 we have the LED assembly; the assembly is
made from a power and control connector (1) and 4 LEDs sliders, each LED has a slider. The slider count is from 0-
(2, 3, 4, 5). 255 exactly as the PWM scale. The user can select a value
from 0 to 255 for one of the LEDs, the application sends
the value to the control board and then the board gives the
LED the PWM output selected from the slider.

Figure 7. LED assembly.

3. THE FUNCTIONING PRINCIPLE Figure 10. User web interface.

The system has the ability to control 4 LEDs via a 4. CONCLUSIONS

Bluetooth connection through an application created in
MIT App Inventor. The application is made for the A smart lighting system can generate significant energy
Android OS (operating system) and can be installed on a savings and cost savings by up to 90%, experts say. Sure,
smartphone or a tablet that uses Android. The control of this percentage is based on many variables, but, in large
each LED is made through a PWM signal. The user has part, the figures and examples from real life show that this
the ability to control the brightness besides the on/off is possible.
function. In Figure 8 we have the smart lighting system
fully assembled. Smart lighting systems can be customized according to
the wishes or needs of the user and are more eco-friendly
than the classic ones.

Smart lighting system allows people to control every

aspect of the lighting system in the home or building from
a smart mobile device at 100 meters. Everything becomes
much easier to control and manage.

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The system can be implemented in any existing electrical

installation by adding power transistors that can be
controlled by PWM.

5. REFERENCES

[1] Simon Monk, Programming Arduino: Getting

Started with Sketches, Second Edition, McGraw Hill
Professional, 2016.
[2] Paul Horowitz, Winfield Hill, The Art of Electronics,
Cambridge Univeristy Press, 1980.
[3] Herbert Schildt, Java: A Beginner's Guide, Eighth
Edition McGraw Hill Professional, 2018.
[4] Cay S. Horstmann, Core Java: Fundamentals.
Volume 1, Prentice Hall, 2015.
[5] Jeremy Blum, Exploring Arduino: Tools and
Techniques for Engineering Wizardry, John Wiley &
Sons, 2013.
[6] Cuno Pfister, Getting Started with the Internet of
Things: Connecting Sensors and Microcontrollers to
the Cloud, Maker Media Inc., 2011.
[7] Kevin Townsend, Getting Started with Bluetooth
Low Energy: Tools and Techniques for Low-Power
Networking, O'Reilly Media Inc., 2014.