Machine Learning Smart City Software from TCS Helps Reduce Payback Period for LED Streetlights

Tata Consultancy Services, a leading global IT services, consulting and business solutions organization, unveiled intelligent software that allows cities to derive greater value from costly LED lighting by reducing the typical four to five year payback period almost in half – to just two to three years. This allows cities to invest in other smart city projects sooner, cuts energy consumption using self-learning algorithms, and improves public safety by responding to real-time changes in traffic, weather and people movement.

Available from TCS Digital Software & Solutions Group, Intelligent Urban Exchange (IUX) for Adaptive Streetlight Optimization also helps cities to jump start smart city projects in other domains, such as water and transportation, by leveraging smart streetlight wide area networks and a common data analytics platform.

The cloud-based IUX software capitalizes on ambitious efforts by cities of all sizes to replace power-hungry conventional streetlights that consume 40% to 50% of a typical city’s energy budget. Designed for both LED and conventional streetlights, it acts like a virtual energy advisor for mayors, city managers and urban planners.

IUX reportedly can deliver an additional 15% to 25% in savings – on top of the 50% energy savings from LED lighting alone – by optimizing streetlight operation using machine learning and predictive analytics on real-time and historic data. It enables individual streetlights to respond to real-time events by automatically adjusting city lighting to suit changes in crime patterns, traffic, people movement, and weather.

For example, streetlight luminosity can be automatically increased to enhance public safety when crowds amass around a traffic accident waiting for first responders. The software can also recommend streetlights be dimmed to save money when bad weather keeps people indoors, increased in response to pedestrian activity or adjusted to resolve light pollution complaints.

Keywords: Smart Cities, LED Lighting, Data Analytics, Streetlight Optimization, Machine Learning, Predictive Analytics, ARC Advisory Group.