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How can a new Philips technology track the movement of shoppers?

Answer: With intelligent lighting

The light emitted by a source can be used to set up a data channel, and a grid of such lights can work as a positioning system.

“The beauty of the system is that retailers do not have to invest in additional infrastructure to house, power and support location beacons for indoor positioning,” explained Philips Lighting’s Gerben van der Lugt. “The light fixtures themselves can communicate this information by virtue of their presence everywhere in the store.”

Read Will Streetlamps Become Information Hubs for Cities? to learn more about intelligent lighting.

Colin wrote for Government Technology and Emergency Management from 2010 through most of 2016.