LIGHTING
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Turning industrial lighting on its head - reimagining the function and form of the luminaire I n a previous Sparks article, we examined the development of the Stadialux floodlight and how constraints can
inspire innovation in lighting design. The same approach is evident in another project by the same designer and lighting engineer, Urbain du Plessis, the South Africa-born engineer whose work encompasses both stadium lighting and industrial systems. While Stadialux rethought how high-power sports lighting could be engineered, the Matrixx® intelligent luminaire system challenged an even more fundamental concept: the very idea of what an industrial luminaire should be. For decades, industrial lighting followed a straightforward pattern. A lamp, a driver, a reflector, and a housing were assembled into a fixture and mounted high above a factory or warehouse floor. As technologies developed, lamps changed—mercury vapour was replaced by metal halide, and later LEDs superseded both—but the basic concept largely remained the same. Matrixx® took a different approach. Instead of creating a better fixture, the engineering team asked a more revolutionary question: what if lighting were considered a system rather than just a product? The project originated in Australia at Vivid Technology Ltd, a company founded in 2011 to develop high-efficiency technologies for large industrial settings. From the beginning, the aim was not just to produce more efficient lighting but to create a fully integrated intelligent lighting platform. The result was Matrixx®: a modular architecture that combines lighting hardware, sensors, energy-management software, and data analytics. Unlike traditional lighting upgrades that merely replace fixtures, Matrixx® was designed as a ‘system of systems’ comprising four interconnected layers: an energy management system, a lighting control system, a luminaire system, and an installation system. These layers work together to transform lighting from a passive electrical load into an active operational platform. Rethinking the luminaire At the heart of Matrixx® is a modular architecture that breaks the luminaire into several interacting components rather than a single sealed fixture. Light engines Instead of a single large luminaire, Matrixx® employs independent LED light engines— high-efficiency optical modules intended for mounting heights between 10 and 15 metres. Each light engine features sealed solid-state optics that connect the LED directly to the environment, removing the usual pathways where dust or moisture could impair optical performance. The powerpack Power and intelligence are separated from the light source. Each PowerPack functions as both a power supply and an edge computing control hub. Rated at approximately 1.2 kW, a PowerPack usually drives six light engines while continuously monitoring operating parameters across the network. Separating the optical components from power and control electronics allows the system to evolve as technologies advance—
The 23,000 m² Dulux distribution centre in Marsden Park, New South Wales, is illuminated to 150 lux by a MATRIXX ® system, with an average consumption of just 1 W/m².
without replacing the entire luminaire.
Matrixx® took a different approach. Instead of creating a better fixture, the engineering team asked a more revolutionary question: what if lighting was considered a system rather than just a product?
Plug-and-Play Infrastructure Perhaps the most radical change lies in the installation architecture. Traditional “smart” lighting installations rely on extensive field wiring and electrical terminations. Matrixx® replaces this with a plug-and-play cabling system in which power, data and sensor cables are factory-tested, bar-coded and delivered ready to install. On-site, installers simply connect components together. This dramatically reduces installation time, eliminates wiring errors and allows the system to be modified or upgraded without dismantling the entire lighting installation. Intelligence at the edge Central to the system is the Lighting Control Unit (LCU). Unlike many modern lighting platforms that rely heavily on cloud connectivity, the LCU operates autonomously on site. All operating logic is stored locally, creating an enduring cyber-secure air-gapped network that continues to function even if external communications are unavailable. A single LCU can coordinate hundreds of sensors and lighting nodes across large industrial facilities. Occupancy sensors, daylight sensors, and environmental sensors continuously monitor site conditions, enabling the system to dynamically adjust lighting behaviour. The aim is straightforward: deliver the right light, in the right place, at the right time. Lighting becomes data One of the most significant milestones in the Matrixx® evolution was the addition of cloud-based analytics. Two software platforms extend the system beyond the physical site: • Cloud Konnekt, which manages secure communications between installations and remote monitoring systems • Klarity, a web-based analytics platform that provides real-time insight into lighting performance Through these tools, operators can monitor installations across multiple sites and benchmark performance globally, down to
individual light engines. Lighting—traditionally invisible once installed—becomes a continuous stream of operational data. Engineering challenges Developing Matrixx® required advances across multiple engineering disciplines. Among the most significant were: • Solid-state optics ‘Smartflector’, combining automotive free-form reflector technology with specialised polymers to precisely shape light distribution. • Software-defined LED drivers allow electrical characteristics to be reconfigured through firmware rather than hardware redesign. • High-performance thermally conductive adhesives, enabling structural bonding between metals, polymers and glass while maintaining thermal performance. • Edge-deployed machine learning, enabling Lighting Control Units to continuously monitor system performance and maintain operational rules autonomously. Equally important was the development of digital site-design workflows. Engineers could model entire installations—including every luminaire, sensor and cable—before construction began. Each component was then tracked during installation using a bar- coded system. In effect, the lighting installation became a fully engineered network rather than a collection of individual fixtures. Real-world performance Across multiple deployments in industrial and logistics facilities, Matrixx® routinely demonstrated remarkable results.
Energy reductions of 85%–91% alongside improved lighting uniformity and reduced maintenance requirements, with lighting energy consumption below 1W/m² in large distribution centres. By integrating precise optical engineering with intelligent control systems, the platform provided improved lighting quality while using a fraction of the energy needed by traditional LED industrial lighting. Matrixx® also created value across the broader ecosystem. Electrical contractors could install large systems rapidly using simplified plug-and-play infrastructure. Property owners used intelligent lighting upgrades to modernise facilities and extend leases. Tenants could deploy the system without major modifications to existing infrastructure. Lighting as infrastructure Perhaps the most important outcome of the Matrixx® project is conceptual. By integrating hardware, sensors, control networks and analytics, Matrixx® demonstrated that lighting can function as digital infrastructure rather than simply illumination. The luminaire becomes a node in an intelligent network—one capable of autonomously sensing, analysing and optimising for the environment in which it operates. Matrixx® challenged long-standing assumptions about what a luminaire is and what it can do. And once lighting becomes part of the digital nervous system of the client’s business, its potential reaches far beyond simply turning the lights on.
SPARKS ELECTRICAL NEWS
SPARKS ELECTRICAL NEWS
OCTOBER 2024
MAY 2026
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