GE logo (Photo : Reuters)
General Electric's GE Lighting unit and telco company Qualcomm have invented smart LED light bulb. It uses phone cameras to talk with shoppers' smartphones directly.
The two companies have been developed the innovative light bulbs for the past four years. A code inside the light fixture is zapped using Visible Light Communication (VLC) technology, according to Market Watch.
Other types of location-based technologies are available such as REID, Bluetooth, and GPS. However, the LED light bulbs are more precise than those technologies.
Jeff Bisberg, general manager at GE Lightning says that the accuracy of the new bulbs is within 5 to 10 centimeters (2 to 4 inches). However, current location-finder technologies are only precise within a few meters (6.5 feet).
This means that after smartphone users link to a retailer's app, they can receive information about a specific item they want to learn about. They can even do that when several other close items are displayed.
This system also transmits other data to retailers. They can discover where customers are located in the shop, and how to upgrade their methods of displaying goods.
Bisberg says that GE is giving retailers a "solution" to improve sales rather than just providing lower energy bills. In response, retailers are showing "interest."
GE plans a large rollout as early as this year. Bisberg explains that GE's bulbs are more advanced than Philips' smart LED bulbs, because the former's bulbs can determine which direction a person is facing, for example.
However, Bisberg admits that it is not clear how soon the new technology will become hot. While retailers would have to replace their existing LED bulbs, the cost would be "incremental."
GE Lighting is testing its smart LED light bulbs in street lights located in Jacksonville, FL, and San Diego, CA. City officials in those cities will use the sensors for various functions, such as studying parking.
GE is also teaming up with Apple for the launch of the Apple HomeKit by the end of 2015, according to CNET. Users can use their smartphones to set the lighting fixture's color temperature, and at different times of the day.
