Intelligent Lighting Control using Wireless Sensor Networks for Media Production

We present the design and implementation of a unique sensing and actuation application -the Illuminator: a sensor network-based intelligent light control system for entertainment and media production. Unlike most sensor network applications, which focus on sensing alone, a distinctive aspect of the Illuminator is that it closes the loop from light sensing to lighting control. We describe the Illuminator’s design requirements, system architecture, algorithms, implementation and experimental results. The system uses the Illumimote, a multi-modal and high fidelity light sensor module well-suited for wireless sensor networks, to satisfy the high-performance light sensing requirements of entertainment and media production applications. The Illuminator system is a toolset to characterize the illumination profile of a deployed set of fixed position lights, generate desired lighting effects for moving targets (actors, scenic elements, etc.) based on user constraints expressed in a formal language, and to assist in the set up of lights to achieve the same illumination profile in multiple venues. After characterizing deployed lights, the Illuminator computes optimal light settings at run-time to achieve a user-specified actuation profile, using an optimization framework based on a genetic algorithm. Uniquely, it can use deployed sensors to incorporate changing ambient lighting conditions and moving targets into actuation. Experimental results demonstrate that the Illuminator handles various high-level user requirements and generates an optimal light actuation profile. These results suggest that the Illuminator system supports entertainment and media production applications.