Project
| # | Title | Team Members | TA | Documents | Sponsor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 | Auto adjusted lighting system for room |
Howard Li Jihyun Seo Kevin Chen |
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| **TITLE** Auto-Adjusted Smart Lighting System for Healthy Indoor Environments **TEAM MEMBERS:** Howard Li [zl114] Jihyun Seo [jihyun4] Kevin Chen [kdchen2] **PROBLEM** Most people do not give much thought to the lighting conditions in the rooms where they spend hours working, studying, or relaxing. As a result, the lighting and brightness levels are often unsuitable for eye health and comfort. Poor or inconsistent lighting can lead to eye strain, headaches, fatigue, and reduced productivity. While modern devices like phones and laptops already include adaptive brightness features, room lighting has largely remained static, requiring manual adjustment if at all. Sudden changes in light intensity can also be jarring, creating discomfort instead of solving the problem. We aim to solve the problem of creating an automatic, health-conscious lighting system for indoor environments that adjusts brightness in real time based on sensed conditions and does so gradually to protect users’ eyes. **SOLUTION** Our solution is to build a system of multiple wireless sensors placed around a room to continuously measure light levels at different points. These sensors will connect to a central control unit, which processes the readings and determines the optimal lighting adjustments for the space. The system will then control the room’s artificial lights, increasing or decreasing brightness to achieve a consistent, eye-healthy level across the room. Importantly, these adjustments will be gradual—mimicking the smooth transitions of a phone screen’s auto-brightness—so that users never experience sudden, distracting changes in illumination. This approach introduces several subsystems: Wireless sensing subsystem: distributed light sensors communicate readings to the main controller. Central control subsystem: interprets sensor data and computes adjustments. Lighting control subsystem: modifies the brightness and potentially the color temperature of the lights. User comfort subsystem: ensures that changes are gradual and within recommended ranges for eye comfort. In addition to improving eye comfort, our system will also focus on energy efficiency. By actively monitoring natural daylight levels through the sensors, the system can reduce or even turn off artificial lighting when sunlight provides sufficient brightness. This ensures that lights are only used when necessary, lowering energy consumption and utility costs while promoting sustainability. **SOLUTION COMPONENTS** SENSORS We will use ambient light sensors to measure lux levels at multiple locations in the room. Placing sensors in different spots ensures accurate feedback even if natural light is unevenly distributed. These sensors will transmit data wirelessly to the central controller. WIRELESS NETWORK & CENTRAL CONTROLLER A controller will collect all sensor data, run algorithms to determine the target lighting level, and send control signals to smart drivers or dimmers. The wireless system allows easy deployment without additional wiring. LIGHTING CONTROL We will integrate dimmable LED lights or connect to existing lighting fixtures via smart dimmers. The control logic will avoid rapid brightness jumps by gradually adjusting output intensity. We may also explore adaptive color temperature to better mimic natural daylight cycles. USER INTERFACE (OPTIONAL) A controller or could allow users to set preferences, such as “focus mode,” “relax mode,” or “sleep preparation mode,” which would adjust the target brightness levels and transition speeds. CRITERION FOR SUCCESS The system must be able to detect ambient lighting conditions in multiple parts of the room and wirelessly send the data to the central unit. The lights should respond automatically to sensor data without user intervention. Brightness adjustments should be gradual, with no sudden jumps noticeable to the human eye. The lighting should remain within healthy ranges recommended for eye comfort (e.g., 300–500 lux for reading, 100–200 lux for relaxation). Optional success criteria: the user interface allows customization of lighting preferences. |
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