Distributed optimal control of lighting based on stochastic hill climbing method with variable neighborhood

In this research, a smart lighting system based on a new autonomous distributed control method was developed to control lighting using illuminance sensors. By using infrared ray communication, one illuminance sensor sends a luminance control directive to several lighting fixtures located nearby. The luminance is made to change randomly within a fixed range to optimize the illuminance using the stochastic hill climbing method. The result of operational experiments using illuminance sensors that were preset to the target illuminance showed that the brightness at specified locations approached the target illuminance that the illuminance sensors were set to. The electrical power consumed by the lighting system was also minimized. Moreover, in comparison with lighting driven autonomous distributed controls of smart lighting systems, better results were obtained, indicating that the method is an effective new distributed control method.