LichtWART ensures that illuminated advertising always shines at the right intensity and that faults are reported swiftly – services that are based on Telekom’s Cloud of Things.

From shoe stores via fast food chains to movie theaters, we frequently encounter illuminated advertising on the freeway, downtown and in remote industrial areas. But strict rules apply. Ignore them and your billboard’s lighting may be switched off. 

Neon signs are designed to be in use for decades and many have sent their message for ages. Maintenance and repair of their analog technology are expensive. As a rule, the signs have only a timer and a dimmer switch, so inspections, cleaning, repairs and adjustments can only be carried out manually on-site. In addition, faults and malfunctions often go unnoticed for lengthy periods. “It really becomes difficult when defective illuminated signage has a negative impact on the customer’s image,” says LichtWART founder Gregor Giataganas. Defective LEDs can transform a Drogerie (drugstore) into a Droge, or drug, and turn KAFFEE into an AFFE – a monkey. “The consequences of an outage can even impact on sales if, say, travelers on the autobahn fail to notice the Raststätte (service station) sign in time,” he says. 

SME INVESTS IN DIGITIZATION OF ILLUMINATED ADVERTISING

LichtWART aims to put an end to mishaps of this kind by upgrading analog facilities without major installation work, maintaining them remotely and remedying outages promptly. The basis for all of these is the Internet of Things (IoT). LichtWART was founded in 2020 as a subsidiary of Bertelmann, an SME that designs, installs, repairs and maintains around 2,000 illuminated billboards all over Germany. 

By launching LichtWART the SME seeks to stay sustainable by investing in the digitization of illuminated advertising. Bertelmann chose Telekom as its digitization expert. The Bonn-based Telekom Group is in charge of the digital networking of LichtWART solutions, and the Internet of Things plays a key role as the light management platform.

It did precisely that at the Berliner Bogen in Hamburg, a building that spans around 140 meters of a kilometer-long high water basin. Especially at night it is an architectural highlight and a real eyecatcher. Three lighting arrays make the Berliner Bogen’s entrance area, nearly 40 meters high, shine brightly. What is special about it is that the operator monitors the lighting remotely and in comfort on a PC, a smartphone or a tablet and not at a dizzying on-site height.

PREDICTIVE MAINTENANCE: REPAIRS WITHOUT DELAYS 

The LichtWART and Telekom IoT solution makes it possible. The system consists of a hardware module, a light sensor, an antenna, a SIM card and M2M connectivity, and this is how it works: the wireless module sends the lighting’s sensor data to the Cloud of Things, Telekom’s IoT platform, where, stored securely and highly available, it is evaluated. The lighting’s status can be monitored in real time on a Web interface, and predictive maintenance ensures that maintenance and repairs are carried out early, efficiently and inexpensively. The IoT solution reports imminent faults and malfunctions automatically, saving time and money. Repairs are dealt with faster: technicians know what the fault is before they set off, so they can take the right spare parts with them.

“Managing and maintaining the three lighting arrays is much easier now. If an outage occurs, the repair is initiated automatically: without delays and with low process costs and personnel input,” says Dennis Peizert, CEO of Hanselicht and manufacturer of the Berliner Bogen’s lighting system. A glance at the energy consumption makes his eyes sparkle. The smart solution reduces energy costs by up to 40 percent.