The Converged Internet of Lights Network for Telecommunication, Positioning, Illumination, and Medical Therapy

With LED-based lighting lamps now being utilized all over the world, the concept of the Internet of Lights (IoL) using existing LED illumination networks with information and communications technologies including visible light communications (VLC) was created. IoL improves the lighting efficiency and indoor lighting comfort level, and can support value-added information services by modulating the light intensity. However, further investigation of its impact on human beings is needed. This article first introduces the concept, the requirements, and the system structure of IoL using the Internet of Radio Light system as an example for information service. We investigate the feasibility of regulating human physiological rhythms, especially to alleviate degenerative neurological diseases. This would possibly bring light therapy treatments to patients in a non-intrusive way. From a preliminary set of experiments, it is seen that the hippocampus area of mice clearly reacts to the lighting at low frequency, showing the influence of light intensity variation on degenerative neurological diseases. This suggests that the future standardization of VLC needs to consider not only the system transmission performance but also its potential impact on human beings for indoor applications.