The Connected Lighting Alliance

PISCATAWAY, NJ--(Marketwired - Apr 21, 2016) - The Connected Lighting Alliance (TCLA), the primary advocate of wireless lighting connectivity, announced today that it is collaborating with the Thread Group on an open protocol solution for the network-layer in indoor professional lighting applications.

Wireless control of lighting systems is making inroads into the indoor professional lighting market, with the promise of improved energy efficiency, low-cost installation and reconfiguration, and enhanced quality of light for end users. Interoperability of lighting devices will reduce market uncertainty and drive market adoption in commercial and public buildings.

After successfully endorsing and promoting an open standard for connected lighting in homes, TCLA has extended its scope to the indoor professional lighting market. With input from its members, the Alliance established a set of lighting-specific market requirements for the network-layer portion. An evaluation of a number of open protocols was then carried out, with the goal of identifying a Standards Development Organization (SDO) that was capable of delivering a suitable solution for the network-layer. TCLA concluded that no single solution on the market today meets all the requirements, but that the Thread Group came closest. As a result, TCLA identified the Thread Group as its preferred SDO partner, and the two organizations are now collaborating to close the remaining network-layer requirement gaps for indoor professional lighting.

"While Thread currently focuses on the connected home, the low power IPv6 mesh networking infrastructure Thread provides is ubiquitous among both commercial and industrial applications," said Sujata Neidig, vice president of marketing, Thread Group. "We're seeing increasing interest and pull from applications looking to adopt Thread outside of the home -- such as indoor professional lighting -- and look forward to collaborating with The Connected Lighting Alliance in this area."

"TCLA is very pleased to collaborate with the Thread Group," said Frank van Tuijl, secretary general of The Connected Lighting Alliance. "After our success in the residential connected lighting market, TCLA's collaboration with the Thread Group on a network-layer solution for indoor professional lighting is an important step in achieving interoperability between different manufacturers."

The collaboration between TCLA and Thread will focus on a solution for the network-layer. Meanwhile, TCLA is separately evaluating requirements and looking for suitable solutions for the application-layer.

About The Connected Lighting Alliance
The Connected Lighting Alliance is the primary advocate of wireless connectivity in lighting applications. We comprise 38 members, which include the leading lighting companies worldwide. Our mission is to promote the global adoption and growth of wireless lighting solutions by supporting open standards.

For more information on The Connected Lighting Alliance, please visit www.theconnectedlightingalliance.org .

About the Thread Group
The non-profit Thread Group is focused on making Thread the foundation for the Internet of Things in the home, educating product developers and consumers on the unique features and benefits of Thread and ensuring a great user experience through rigorous, meaningful product certification. Thread is backed by industry-leading companies including ARM, Haiku, Nest Labs, NXP, OSRAM, Qualcomm, Samsung Electronics, Silicon Labs, Somfy, Tyco and Yale Security. For more information, please visit http://www.threadgroup.org .