For more than 35 years, McWong International has developed high-quality lighting controls and related electrical power and protection components. Today, McWong is engineering IoT solutions for the rapidly changing marketplace. With advanced design and manufacturing facilities, McWong offers extensive component choices for OEMs as well as robust solutions for contractors, ESCOs, and facility managers.
A few weeks ago, I met with Stephen Zhou, executive vice president for McWong International. He talked about Bluetooth® trends in 2022 and outlined a few projections for Bluetooth technology in 2023.
Q&A With Stephen Zhou From McWong International
What Bluetooth technology trends from 2022 most stick out to you as it relates to networked lighting control, and what new Bluetooth technology trends do you anticipate seeing in 2023?
“We expect to see continued strong growth in Bluetooth® Mesh lighting control applications.”
We expect to see increasing interest and activity in interoperability, both from the customer perspective and from the industry perspective. We’ve seen increased collaboration between technology consortiums like the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG), Zhaga, and the Digital Illumination Interface Alliance (DiiA) as well as educational efforts like the one recently announced by the Lighting Controls Association (LCA) and DiiA. These activities demonstrate the evolving awareness of the benefits of interoperability and the need to help design and building professionals understand the technologies better so they can integrate interoperability principles into their work.
We also expect to see continued strong growth in Bluetooth Mesh lighting control applications – double-digit growth that corresponds to the strong continued market penetration of this technology.
FEATURED CASE STUDY
Greening Spring House Innovation Park With Flexible Outdoor Bluetooth Mesh Control
McWong and Luminosity Lighting provide flexible outdoor lighting control throughout Spring House Innovation Park’s 133-acre campus.
What has been the biggest demand from your customers as it relates to Bluetooth technology in 2022?
There is a great deal of interest in integration between Bluetooth® Mesh platforms and building management/automation systems such as those using BACnet. This integration will provide a unified dashboard and platform for controlling not just lighting but also HVAC, access, and other building systems.
There is also increasing awareness that wireless mesh control solutions are not only viable but optimal for outdoor lighting due to the avoided costs of installing wired systems and the reliability and robustness of wireless technologies like Bluetooth Mesh.
How have you used Bluetooth technology in 2022, and what will you focus on in 2023?
In 2022, McWong was excited to introduce a robust controller with a long-range antenna to improve performance for outdoor Bluetooth® Mesh control networks. The product received the Lightfair Technical Innovation Award as well as recognition from the IES Progress Report – two prestigious industry awards.
“We expect to see greater adoption of Bluetooth® Mesh solutions in the marketplace.”
We partnered with Luminosity Lighting and MRA Group to provide flexible outdoor lighting control throughout Spring House Innovation Park’s 133-acre campus (winner of the LightSPEC West inaugural design excellence award). The project team designed and implemented a flexible qualified Bluetooth Mesh control network that affords management fingertip adjustability while offering occupants responsive lighting regardless of the time of day.
In 2023, we plan to focus on highly interoperable solutions that leverage not only Bluetooth Mesh technology but also comply with Zhaga and D4i requirements. This offers the greatest degree of flexibility to the marketplace in choosing best-of-breed solutions.
What do you think the biggest difference will be in 2023 for Bluetooth technology?
We expect to see greater adoption of Bluetooth® Mesh solutions in the marketplace as more and more professionals gain awareness and knowledge about the functional capabilities from a lighting control perspective and the non-lighting benefits that can accompany the implementation of a control platform, such as asset tracking.
FEATURED INNOVATION
Networked Lighting Control
Bluetooth® Networked Lighting Control systems are deployed in offices, retail, healthcare, factories, and other commercial facilities to deliver a combination of energy savings, an enhanced occupant experience, and more efficient building operations.
McWong Internationalは35年以上にわたり、高品質の照明制御装置と、関連する電源・保護装置を開発してきました。現在では、急速に変化しつつある市場に向けてIoTソリューションの開発も行っています。先進的な設計と製造施設を備えるMcWongは、メーカーに対しては豊富な種類の部品を取り揃え、建設業者・ESCO事業者・施設管理者に対しては堅固なソリューションを提供しています。
数週間前、McWong Internationalのエグゼクティブバイスプレジデント、スティーブン・ジョウ（Stephen Zhou）氏にお話を伺うことができました。ジョウ氏は2022年のBluetooth®のトレンドと、Bluetooth技術に関する2023年の展望について語ってくれました。
McWong Internationalのスティーブン・ジョウ氏とのQ&A
2022年のBluetooth技術トレンドで、ネットワーク照明制御に関連して最も印象に残っているのは何ですか。また、2023年に登場が予想されるBluetooth技術の新しいトレンドは何でしょうか。
ユーザー目線および開発者目線の両方において、相互運用性への関心と活動が増すと予想しています。Bluetooth SIG（Special Interest Group）、Zhaga、DiiA（Digital Illumination Interface Alliance）などの技術コンソーシアム間の協力や、最近LCA（Lighting Controls Association）とDiiAが発表したような教育的な取り組みの増加が見られます。こうした動きは、相互運用性のメリットに関する認識、そして相互運用性の原則を設計や建築の中に組み込んでいけるよう、設計・建築プロフェッショナルの方々に技術に対する理解を深めてもらう必要性に対する認識が、ともに高まっていることを示しています。
Bluetooth Meshを使用した照明制御も力強い成長が続いていくと予想しています。この技術が市場において好調な普及を続けていることに呼応した2桁成長が見られるでしょう。
Bluetooth技術に関連して、2022年にユーザーから最も求められたことは何ですか。
Bluetooth® MeshプラットフォームとBACnetなどを使用したビル管理・オートメーションシステムの統合に、大きな関心が集まっています。こうした統合は、照明にとどまらず、HVAC、入退室、その他のビルシステム制御が可能な統一されたダッシュボードとプラットフォームを実現します。
また、屋外照明にとって、ワイヤレスメッシュ制御ソリューションが実現可能であるだけでなく最適なのだという認識も広がりつつあります。有線システムの設置に必要なコストが不要であること、またBluetooth Meshのようなワイヤレス技術の高い信頼性と堅牢性がその理由です。
2022年にはBluetooth技術をどのように活用し、2023年は何に重点的に取り組む予定ですか。
2022年、McWongは屋外のBluetooth® Mesh制御ネットワークのパフォーマンス向上を図る、長距離アンテナを備えた堅牢なコントローラを発売しました。この製品は業界で名高い2つの賞、Lightfairテクニカルイノベーションアワードの受賞とIES Progress Reportでの表彰を受けています。
当社はLuminosity LightingおよびMRA Groupと提携し、米国のスプリングハウスイノベーションパークの133エーカーの敷地全体に柔軟性の高い屋外照明制御を導入しました（LightSPEC Westの第1回デザインエクセレンス賞を受賞）。プロジェクトチームは柔軟性が高く認証済みのBluetooth Mesh制御ネットワークを設計し、導入しました。管理側にとっては調整が容易に行え、テナント側にとっては一日のどの時間帯であっても自動調節される照明が提供されます。
2023年には、Bluetooth Mesh技術の活用にとどまらずZhagaやD4iの要件をも満たす、相互運用性の高いソリューションに注力する予定です。これにより、最高のソリューションを選択する際の最大限の柔軟性を市場に提供できます。
Bluetooth技術に関して2023年に最も大きく変わることは何だと思いますか。
Bluetooth® Meshソリューションの市場での採用がより大きく進むと予想しています。照明制御に関する機能と、制御プラットフォームの導入に伴って享受できる資産追跡などの照明以外のメリットについて、さらに多くのプロフェッショナルが認識と知識を高めることがその背景です。
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