Lighting system fault diagnostic apparatus

Abstract

A diagnostic apparatus (101) for diagnosing faults within a lighting system comprising at least one luminaire (121), and at least one presence sensor (123, 151) configured to control the operation of at least one luminaire (121) when an object is within the presence sensor (123, 151) sensing range, the diagnostic apparatus (101) comprising: a user input (103) configured to receive at least one input to control the at least one luminaire (121); and a fault determiner (221) configured to determine at least one lighting system fault based on the at least one input and wherein an object is within the sensing range of a presence sensor (123, 151) expected to be associated with the at least one luminaire (121); and a fault reporter (223) configured to generate at least one fault report based on the determined at least one lighting system fault.

Claims

1. A diagnostic apparatus for diagnosing a fault within a lighting system, the lighting system comprising a luminaire and a presence sensor, wherein the presence sensor is configured to control a light output characteristic of the luminaire based on detecting an object within a sensing range, the diagnostic apparatus comprising: an interface configured to receive, from a user, an input to control the luminaire, wherein the received input is indicative of the user being within the sensing range of the presence sensor, a fault determiner configured to determine a lighting system status and a lighting system fault, wherein the lighting system fault is based on the received input and the determined lighting system status, a fault reporter configured to generate a fault report based on the determined lighting system fault; and a sensor determiner configured to determine a status of the presence sensor, wherein the fault determiner is configured to determine the lighting system status based on receiving the status of the presence sensor, and further configured to determine a type of lighting system fault based on the lighting system status and the received input; and wherein the fault determiner is configured to determine a presence sensor fault when the sensor determiner output fails to produce an output indicating the presence sensor detecting an object indicative of the user being within the sensing range.

2. The diagnostic apparatus as claimed in claim 1, further comprising: a luminaire detector configured to detect the luminaire based on an image received from a camera, wherein the fault determiner is further configured to determine the type of lighting system fault based on an output of the luminaire detector.

3. The diagnostic apparatus as claimed in claim 2, further comprising a light output characteristic determiner configured to measure a light output characteristic of the detected luminaire based on the image received from the camera, wherein the fault determiner is further configured to determine the type of lighting system fault based on an output of the light characteristic determiner.

4. The diagnostic apparatus as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a diagnostic control module configured to generate a request to change a light output characteristic of the luminaire; and wherein the fault determiner is further configured to determine the type of lighting system fault based on an output of the diagnostic control module.

5. The diagnostic apparatus as claimed in claim 4, wherein the diagnostic control module is configured to be controlled based on the input received from the user to control the luminaire.

6. The diagnostic apparatus as claimed in claim 4 wherein the light output characteristic determiner is further configured to measure a characteristic of the luminaire before and after the request to change a characteristic of the luminaire is implemented at the luminaire.

7. The diagnostic apparatus as claimed in claim 4, further comprising a transceiver configured to transmit the request to change a light output characteristic of the luminaire to a lighting system manager, wherein the lighting system manager is configured to generate and execute a lighting system control for changing the light output characteristic of the detected luminaire based on the request.

8. The diagnostic apparatus as claimed in claim 7, wherein the transceiver is further configured to transmit the fault report to a building management server.

9. The diagnostic apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the fault determiner is configured to determine a lighting system commissioning fault when the presence sensor is determined to control a further luminaire.

10. The diagnostic apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the diagnostic apparatus is a mobile phone.

11. A lighting system comprising: the diagnostic apparatus as claimed in claim 1, a luminaire in communication with the diagnostic apparatus; and a presence sensor associated with the luminaire.

12. The diagnostic apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the fault determiner is configured to determine the presence sensor fault on condition that: the sensor determiner output fails to produce the output indicating the presence sensor detecting the object indicative of the user being within the sensing range when the diagnostic apparatus detects the received input.

13. A method of for diagnosing faults within a lighting system, the lighting system comprising a luminaire and a presence sensor, wherein the presence sensor is configured to control a light output characteristic of the luminaire based on detecting an object within a sensing range, the method comprising: receiving, via an interface, from a user, an input to control the luminaire, wherein the received input is indicative of the user being within the sensing range of the presence sensor, and determining a lighting system status and a lighting system fault, wherein the lighting system status is based on receiving the status of the presence sensor and wherein the lighting system fault is based on the received input and the determined lighting system status, generating a fault report based on the determined lighting system fault; and wherein the method further comprises: determining a type of lighting system fault based on the lighting system status and the received input, and determining a presence sensor fault when a sensor determiner output fails to produce an output indicating the presence sensor detecting an object indicative of the user being within the sensing range.

14. A computer program product comprising code embodied on one or more computer-readable storage media and/or being downloadable therefrom, and being configured to perform the method according to claim 13 when run on a diagnostic apparatus for diagnosing faults within a lighting system.

15. The method as claimed in claim 13, wherein the determining the presence sensor fault is performed on condition that: the sensor determiner output fails to produce the output indicating the presence sensor detecting the object indicative of the user being within the sensing range when the method detects the received input.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) To assist understanding of the present disclosure and to show how embodiments may be put into effect, reference will be made by way of example to the accompanying drawings in which:

(2) FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of a lighting system comprising an intelligent luminaire environment suitable for implementing some embodiments,

(3) FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram of a lighting system diagnostic apparatus such as shown in FIG. 1 according to some embodiments,

(4) FIG. 3 shows a flow diagram of an overview of a lighting system diagnostic method according to some embodiments, and

(5) FIG. 4 shows a flow diagram of a lighting system diagnostic method initialization and measurement operations in further detail according to some embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

(6) This invention uses the concept of placing diagnostic apparatus in the form of an observer or monitoring apparatus suitable to further control the light units or light sources within the lighting sources in order to determine any faults within the lighting system by observing the response to any defined controls passed to the light units or light sources. Furthermore the diagnostic apparatus may be configured to trigger the occupancy sensors and/or provide a suitable input for other lighting system sensors in order to observe the effect of the sensors on the lighting system.

(7) With respect to FIG. 1 an example illustration of a lighting system is shown comprising an intelligent luminaire environment and a diagnostic apparatus suitable for implementing some embodiments.

(8) The diagnostic apparatus 101 in some embodiments may be a mobile phone or smartphone which may be carried and operated by a user. In some embodiments the diagnostic apparatus 101 may also be implemented, without limitation, within computing devices such as tablet or handheld computing devices, laptop computers, touch sensitive and/or voice activated input and/or display devices communicatively connected to one or more processors, and desktop computing devices. In some embodiments the diagnostic equipment may be an autonomous or semi-autonomous apparatus. For example the diagnostic apparatus may be mounted or carried by a tracked or wheeled chassis and be configured to follow a defined or otherwise chosen path through the lighting system space. In some embodiments the diagnostic apparatus 101 may be mounted on a flying structure, for example a lighter-than-air drone or helicopter or quadcopter drone and fly through the space performing a diagnostic analysis of the lighting system. In the following examples the diagnostic apparatus and the object which is detected by the presence sensor as discussed herein are the same apparatus. However in some embodiments the diagnostic apparatus may implemented within a controller or building system manager apparatus. Furthermore the following examples describe the diagnostic apparatus 101 as being a single physical device or apparatus. However in some embodiments the diagnostic apparatus 101 may be implemented as parts (or components or modules) operating on physically separate devices and configured to communicate with other parts.

(9) The diagnostic apparatus 101 may comprise a user interface 103. The user interface 103 enables a user to input commands to the diagnostic apparatus 101, for example via a keypad, and/or to obtain information from the diagnostic apparatus 101, for example via a display. In some embodiments a touch screen may provide both input and output functions for the user interface. For example the user interface 103 may be used by the user to initiate a diagnostic application or program to be performed on the diagnostic apparatus 101. Furthermore the user interface 103 may be used to display the results of the diagnostic application or program, for example to display a report indicating whether a sensor or luminaire within the lighting system has failed.

(10) The diagnostic apparatus 101 may comprise at least one processor or CPU 105. The processor 105 can in some embodiments be configured to execute various program code or applications. The implemented program codes or programs may be for example luminaire/sensor identification code, luminaire control code, luminaire monitoring code and luminaire fault diagnosis code as described herein. The implemented program codes can in some embodiments be stored for example in a memory 107 for retrieval by the processor 105 whenever needed.

(11) The luminaire/sensor identification code, luminaire control code, luminaire monitoring code and luminaire fault diagnosis code may in some embodiments be implemented at least partially in hardware and/or firmware.

(12) The diagnostic apparatus 101 may comprise a memory 107. The memory 107 may comprise a section or part configured, as described herein, to store program codes. The memory 107 may furthermore provide a section or part for storing data, for example sensor data received from the lighting system, observed lighting system data, or lighting system control signal data in accordance with the application as described herein. In some embodiments, such as described above, the user interface 103 is a physically separate device or module from the CPU 105 and memory 107. For example the user interface 103 may be a mobile device or user equipment running a luminaire control application and configured to communicate with a control or management server implementing the CPU 105 and memory 107 configured to execute the diagnostic module program described herein.

(13) The diagnostic apparatus 101 may comprise a camera 109. The camera 109 may be any suitable digital camera or imaging device. In some embodiments the camera 109 may capture image data for wavelengths outside of the normal visible range, for example infra-red wavelengths.

(14) The diagnostic apparatus 101 may comprise a transceiver 111. The transceiver 111 may be suitable for enabling communication with other apparatus, for example the lighting system via a wireless communication network. The transceiver 111 can communicate with other apparatus by any suitable known communications protocol, for example in some embodiments the transceiver 111 or transceiver means can use a suitable universal mobile telecommunications system (UMTS) protocol, a wireless local area network (WLAN) protocol such as for example IEEE 802.X, a suitable short-range radio frequency communication protocol such as Bluetooth, ZigBee or infrared data communication pathway (IRDA).

(15) The lighting system shown in FIG. 1 further comprises at least one controllable luminaire or intelligent luminaire 121. In the example shown in FIG. 1 there are shown three intelligent luminaires 121.sub.1, 121.sub.2, 121.sub.N.

(16) Each of the intelligent luminaires 121 may comprise a sensor 123, a light source 125, and a control module with transceiver capability 127. In some embodiments the sensor 123 and light source 125 are located within the same device or housing.

(17) The sensor 123 may be a sensor capable of sensing, for example, one or more of daylight, occupancy, IR, carbon dioxide, humidity and temperature.

(18) The light source 125 may be capable of performing one or more light actuating functions, such as turning on/off, dimming, and tuneable white light or colored light production. The light source 125 may be any one or more of a variety of radiation sources, including, but not limited to, LED-based sources (including one or more LEDs as defined above). A given light source may be configured to generate electromagnetic radiation within the visible spectrum, outside the visible spectrum, or a combination of both. Hence, the terms light and radiation are used interchangeably herein. Additionally, the light source 125 may include as an integral component one or more filters (e.g., color filters), lenses, or other optical components. Also, it should be understood that the light source 125 may be configured for a variety of applications, including, but not limited to, indication, display, and/or illumination.

(19) In some embodiments the control module 127 comprises computer code (e.g. software or microcode) executing on one or more processors housed within the same device or housing as the sensor 123 and/or light source 125. The control module 127 may provide one or more control functions for controlling the behavior of other modules and devices, such as one or more of the light source 125 and the sensor 123.

(20) The intelligent luminaire 121, and in some embodiments the control module 127 may provide one or more external interfaces for communicating with other modules of the lighting system. The interface may be any suitable interface. For example the interface may be an EnvisionIP interface or other suitable interface for use in commissioning the light source 125 and/or for use by control module 127 to influence the behavior of other luminaires and sensors communicatively connected to itself. In some embodiments the intelligent luminaire 121, and specifically the control module 127, may also provide an xCLIP interface or other suitable interface for use by control module 127 to access and control basic capabilities of light source 125 or other light sources communicatively connected to the luminaire 121. The xCLIP interface may also be used by other system modules (e.g. gateway module 130) for accessing sensor data generated by sensors accessible to the luminaire 121, and energy consumption and diagnostic data available to the light source 125.

(21) The intelligent luminaires such as the ones shown in FIG. 1 121.sub.1, 121.sub.2, and 121.sub.N may each generate coded light signals comprising codes identifying themselves (and/or other associated light sources. In some embodiments each intelligent luminaire 121 is configured to transmit the coded light signal comprising the code identifying itself to the manager module 141 and/or the diagnostic apparatus 101.

(22) The lighting system in some embodiments may further comprise a manager module 141. The manager module 141, executing on one or more processors, may be configured to receive one or more signals comprising a control request from the diagnostic apparatus 101, and generate a control command. In some embodiments, the control command comprises the information encoded in the control request, but in a format understandable by a gateway module or commissioned units (e.g. IP luminaire) to which it is transmitted. Furthermore, while the control request may contain more general information regarding desired changes in a particular room or work zone, the control command may be more specific with regard to the implementation of the requested changes encoded in the control request. For example, the control command may contain specific instructions that, when processed by a group of intelligent luminaires, cause the luminaires to effect specific changes in illumination. The manager module 141 thereafter may transmit, the control command to a gateway module 131.

(23) The lighting system in some embodiments may furthermore comprise a gateway module 131. The gateway module 131 may store data associated with the control command, such as identification information associated with the luminaire(s) that will respond to the desired change in lighting level. The gateway module 131 may then communicate with the intelligent luminaire 121 to adjust their illumination to produce the light level requested.

(24) The lighting system in some embodiments may furthermore comprise sensors 151. The sensors 151, may be any suitable sensor configured to produce data indicative of, for example, motion, occupancy, sound, the presence of one or more gases, illumination, humidity, and temperature. The sensors, of which three 151.sub.1, 151.sub.2, and 151.sub.N are shown in FIG. 1 may communicate with the manager module 141 (and from there to the diagnostic apparatus 101) or with an associated intelligent luminaire 121 or directly with the diagnostic apparatus 101.

(25) With respect to FIG. 2 a schematic block diagram of a diagnostic module is shown. The diagnostic module 201 may in some embodiments be implemented within program code or otherwise stored on memory 107 and executed on the processor 105 within the diagnostic apparatus 101 such as shown in FIG. 1. In some embodiments the diagnostic module 201 may be implemented at least partially in hardware or as a combination of software and hardware.

(26) The diagnostic module 201 may in some embodiments be configured to be connected or communicate with the camera module 109 and thus receive image or data from the camera module. Furthermore the diagnostic module 201 may be configured to communicate with the transceiver 111 and thus be configured to generate and pass control requests to the manager module 141. As described herein the manager module 141 may then be configured to convert the requests into control commands which are passed to the intelligent luminaires 121 via the gateway 131.

(27) The diagnostic module 201, configured to communicate with the transceiver 111 may further be configured to furthermore receive data from the manager module 141. For example the manager module 141 may be configured to pass sensor information from a sensor 151 or an intelligent luminaire 121 sensor 123.

(28) The diagnostic module 201 may furthermore be configured to communicate with the user interface 103, for example to receive inputs to start a diagnostic process or to receive a user command to effect a change in at least one of the luminaires. Similarly the diagnostic module 201 may be configured to generate an output to the user interface to display to the user, for example to display a message indicating a faulty sensor or light source.

(29) The diagnostic module 201 may in some embodiments comprise a luminaire detector 211. The luminaire detector 211 in some embodiments is configured to receive the output from the camera 109 and detect a coded light signal generated by a specific luminaire. In some embodiments the coded light signal is then used to identify the luminaire currently in view. The luminaire detector 211 may in some embodiments look up the detected coded light signal from the code passed to it from the intelligent luminaire, or communicate with the manager module 141 which identifies the luminaire in view from the stored code list stored on the manager module 141.

(30) In some embodiments the luminaire detector 211 may be configured to receive an output from a position or location detector. The position or location detector may for example be a beacon based location determiner configured to determine the location of the diagnostic apparatus based on received signals (such as GPS, cellular mobile). In some embodiments the position or location detector may receive outputs from other internal sensors (such as compass or gyroscopes) for enabling dead reckoning positional estimations. From the positional information and furthermore from knowledge of the orientation of the apparatus (and thus the orientation of the camera) the luminaire detector 211 may be configured to use the installation or other lighting plan to determine which luminaire is in view of the camera 109.

(31) In some embodiments the diagnostic module 201 comprises a sensor detector 213. The sensor detector 211 may receive the output of the luminaire detector 211 and using a lighting system commissioning plan or other plan of the lighting system determine whether the luminaire detected by the luminaire detector 211 is physically associated with a sensor. In some embodiments the sensor detector may be configured to determine the status of a sensor, such as a presence sensor, which is expected to be associated with a luminaire. The status of a sensor may be an indication on whether the sensor is operating (or switched on). The status of the sensor may furthermore be an indication of the output of the sensor. For example whether a proximity sensor has detected an object within its sensing range. The luminaire may for example be a luminaire for which a user input has been received in order that a fault determiner may be configured to determine whether there is a fault associated with a sensor, a luminaire, or whether the expected association is at fault (for example whether there is an installation or commissioning fault).

(32) For example in some embodiments the luminaire 121 comprises a sensor 123 or may be positioned nearby or logically associated with a sensor 151. In some embodiments the sensor detector 213 is configured to communicate with the manager module 141 to retrieve sensor data from the detected sensors. In other words the sensor detector 213 may be configured to retrieve sensor data from the associated (physically or logically) sensors. In some embodiments the sensor detector may be configured to receive all of the sensor outputs and configured to select or filter the sensor output data based on the detected coded light signal. In such a manner the sensors which are associated (either physically or logically) with the detected light sources.

(33) In some embodiments the diagnostic module 201 comprises a light characteristic adjuster, or diagnostic control module 215. The diagnostic control module 215 may be configured to receive from the luminaire detector 211 the detected luminaire information. The diagnostic control module 215 may be configured to generate control requests for the detected luminaire. These requests may be passed to the transceiver 111 and forwarded to the manager 141 before being converted into a suitable command for passing to the detected luminaire.

(34) In some embodiments the diagnostic module 201 may comprise a light characteristic detector/determiner 217. The light characteristic detector/determiner 217 may be configured to receive images from the camera and determine a suitable light source characteristic. The light source characteristic may be any suitable characteristic determinable from the images captured by the camera. For example the characteristic may be one of: light source on/light source off; light source light level; light source color; light source color temperature; light source frequency; light source configuration.

(35) The diagnostic module 201 may further comprise a fault determiner 221. The fault determiner 221 may be configured to communicate with the luminaire detector 211 and receive information as to which luminaires are in view of the camera and thus able to be diagnosed. Furthermore the fault determiner 221 may be configured to communicate with the sensor detector 213 and receive information on the sensors in view or from which sensors which can detect the diagnostic apparatus 101. The fault determiner 211 may be configured to communicate with the diagnostic control module 215 and receive information as to which control requests have been issued. The fault determiner 221 may furthermore be configured to communicate with the light characteristic detector/determiner 217 and furthermore receive information as to the current detected characteristics of the luminaire in view. In some embodiments the fault determiner 221 may be configured to receive an input from the user interface 103.

(36) The fault determiner 221 is configured to use this information to determine whether there are any faults in the detected luminaire and the associated sensors. The operation of the fault determiner 221 is described in further detail hereafter.

(37) For example in some embodiments the fault determiner may be configured to determine or diagnose a fault within the lighting system comprising the luminaire and the sensor (operating as a presence sensor). The sensor operating as a presence sensor may be configured to control the operation of the luminaire when an object is within the presence sensor sensing range. The fault determiner may in such embodiments determine that there is a lighting system fault based on receiving the at least one input (for example an input requesting the luminaire to be switched on) and having knowledge that there is an object is within the sensing range of the presence sensor expected to be associated with the luminaire. In other words expecting the luminaire should be on based on the knowledge of the object within the sensing range and then receiving a user input requesting the light to be switched on enables the fault determiner to determine that there is a fault as the two events should not occur together without some fault in the lighting system occurring. This fault determination may be improved or the diagnosis detail improved by using further inputs such as the images from a camera enabling luminaire parameters to be measured or determined. Furthermore in some embodiments the fault determiner may receive outputs from the luminaire determiner positively identifying the luminaire. The fault determiner may further receive outputs from the sensor determiner providing further information enabling the sensor status to be analyzed. The fault determiner may furthermore receive outputs from the diagnostic control module and thus determine faults by observing changes in the luminaire.

(38) The diagnostic module 201 may further comprise a fault reporter 223. The fault reporter may be configured to communicate with the fault determiner 221 to receive information about any determined faults in the detected luminaires and the associated sensors. The fault reporter 223 may furthermore be configured to compile a report comprising all of the determined faults. The fault reporter 223 may be configured to communicate with the user interface 109 and display information on the reported faults in the luminaires and associated sensors. Furthermore the fault reporter 223 may be configured to communicate with the manager 141 or similar building management server via the transceiver 111 to transmit the fault report.

(39) With respect to FIG. 3 a flow diagram of an overview of the lighting system diagnostic method according to some embodiments is shown.

(40) The diagnostic apparatus when implementing the diagnostic module may be configured to initialize a diagnostic process or method. The initialization of the diagnostic process may be implemented based on a positive determination or detection of a luminaire (for example by the luminaire detector 211). In some embodiments the initialization of the diagnostic process may further comprise the detection or determination (using the sensor detector 213) of a sensor and sensor data (which may associated with the detected luminaire. In some embodiments the initialization of the diagnostic process may further comprise the generation (using the diagnostic control module 215) of a request to change a light characteristic of the detected luminaire. In some embodiments the initialization of the diagnostic process may further comprise the detection or determination (using the light characteristic detector 217) of light source characteristics for the detected luminaire prior to the transmission of the characteristic change request (in other words the original or prior state of the luminaire).

(41) The performing a diagnostic initialization is shown in FIG. 3 by step 301.

(42) The diagnostic apparatus, using the fault determiner 221, may then be configured to compare the output of the associated sensor against an expected sensor output when the apparatus is within range of the sensor. For example where a sensor 151 or 123 is an occupancy sensor and the diagnostic apparatus detects the associated intelligent luminaire 121 it is expected that the sensor would be triggered to indicate occupancy.

(43) The operation of determining whether the sensor is performing according to the expected behavior, such as the triggering of the occupancy sensor, is shown in FIG. 3 by step 303.

(44) Where the sensor does not produce the expected result, such as not indicating that the area is occupied for an occupancy sensor, then the diagnostic module 201 may be configured to generate a fault report. For example the fault determiner 221 may be configured to pass this information to a fault reporter 223 which generates a suitable sensor fault report identifying the fault in the sensor and outputs this report or message to a suitable output.

(45) The operation of generating a sensor failure report is shown in FIG. 3 by step 305.

(46) Furthermore in some embodiments the diagnostic module 201, and specifically the light characteristic determiner 217, may be configured to determine a further characteristic of the luminaire following the transmission and execution of the characteristic change request. In other words a further measurement of the detected luminaire output is performed.

(47) The operation of further measuring the luminaire output is shown in FIG. 3 by step 307.

(48) The diagnostic module 201, and in some embodiments the fault determiner 221, may be configured to compare the before and after light characteristics and furthermore compare the after light characteristics against an expected light characteristic to determine whether or not the intelligent luminaire is functioning correctly. Thus for example does the fault determiner 221 detect whether all the cups/ledstrings illuminated? If not which of the cups/ledstrings are failing to illuminate? Similarly does the fault determiner 221 detect that the light levels are similar across cups/ledstrings or do the levels differ by more than a determined threshold difference when the light levels should be similar according to the light source characteristic request. Does the fault determiner 221 determine whether any of the light sources are producing a visible flicker or operating at a frequency other than the requested frequency? Where the fault determiner 221 is configured to detect color errors, in other words the light source characteristic request is for a specific color, is the measured color correct? Or is there a color consistency between cups/ledstrings which is greater than an expected difference. In some embodiment dynamic light characteristic faults may be detected by comparing the change in the light characteristic between the initial and the further requests. In such embodiments the fault determiner 221 may be configured to verify whether a dimming or brightening effect is acceptable and compare the measured dimming or brightening against an expected dim curve. The fault determiner 221 may further may be configured to determine the smoothness of the dynamic light characteristic. Furthermore the nature of the dynamic light characteristic may be determined, for example whether the dimming or color change is a linear, or non-linear (for example logarithmic). The fault determiner 221 may also be configured to compare a measured fade time against an expected fade time.

(49) As well as determining luminaire performance faults the fault determiner may be configured to detect commissioning errors. For example in some embodiments the luminaire detector 211 information may be passed to the fault determiner indicating an expected lamp type, whereas the light characteristic determiner 217 may determine from the camera image the actual lamp type and configuration. The fault determiner may then be configured to verify the lamp type (224, 44 etc.) for the detected luminaire. Furthermore commissioning errors such as logical errors may be detected by the fault determiner wherein whether the luminaire to be controlled is the correct one? (For example a light unit is detected which is luminaire A to which a request is generated and fails to respond but instead a neighboring luminaire luminaire B responds.

(50) The operation of determining whether the luminaire is functioning correctly based on the measured light characteristics is shown in FIG. 3 by step 309.

(51) Where the measured light characteristics are determined to indicate that the luminaire is not functioning correctly then the diagnostic module 201, and in some embodiments the fault reporter 223, may be configured to generate a suitable luminaire fault report indicating how the luminaire has failed.

(52) The diagnostics report/dataset may in some embodiments be communicated to a buildings management server (BMS) or similar. In some embodiments the report/dataset can comprise data such as: Luminaire ID; Diagnostics results for the diagnostics that can be executed on the diagnostic apparatus (for example in some embodiments the apparatus may not hold all the required information to determine whether a test has passed such as: lamp type was detected, but the apparatus does not know whether that lamp type was expected at that position).

(53) In some embodiments the fault determiner/fault reporter may be configured to output data to be analyzed on the BMS. Similarly in some embodiments the fault determiner/fault reporter may be configured to cache raw data (light characteristics, sensor information etc.) and send this raw data to a BMS on request.

(54) The operation of generating a luminaire fault report is shown in FIG. 3 by step 311.

(55) Where the luminaire is determined to be ok and functioning correctly then in some embodiments the diagnostic module, and in some embodiments the fault reporter 223, may be configured to generate an OK luminaire function report providing a positive indication that the luminaire at a specific time was functioning correctly. Thus in some embodiments in later performances of the diagnostic apparatus it may be possible to indicate patterns of failures knowing when the luminaire or sensor failed more accurately.

(56) The operation of generating a luminaire ok report is shown in FIG. 3 by step 313.

(57) With respect to FIG. 4 an example diagnostic initialization operation such as shown in FIG. 3 by step 301 is shown in further detail.

(58) The initialization of the diagnostic process may be implemented based on a positive determination or detection of a luminaire (for example by the luminaire detector 211). For example in some embodiments the luminaire detector 211 is configured to receive the image data from the camera and detect which luminaires are in view of the diagnostic apparatus based on the coded light from the luminaire detected from the image.

(59) The operation of detecting from the coded light the luminaire is shown in FIG. 4 by step 401.

(60) In some embodiments the initialization of the diagnostic process may further comprise the detection or determination (using the sensor detector 213) of a sensor and sensor data (which may associated with the detected luminaire. In other words having determined a luminaire the sensor detector 213 is configured to determine whether any associated sensors. In some embodiments the sensor detector 213 may furthermore be configured to determine or retrieve sensor information from the detected sensor in order that the sensor operation may be diagnosed by the fault determiner 221.

(61) The operation of detecting the associated sensors, based on the detected luminaire is shown in FIG. 4 by step 403.

(62) In some embodiments the initialization of the diagnostic process may further comprise the generation (using the diagnostic control module 215) of a request to change a light characteristic of the detected luminaire. This may be any suitable change in characteristic, such as light level, color, temperature, light source configuration, frequency etc.

(63) The operation of generating the request to change the characteristic of the detected luminaire is shown in FIG. 4 by step 405.

(64) In some embodiments the initialization of the diagnostic process may further comprise the detection or determination (using the light characteristic detector 217) of light source characteristics for the detected luminaire prior to the transmission of the characteristic change request (in other words the original or prior state of the luminaire). This may for example be performed by using the images captured by the camera in the time period prior to the transmission or execution of the light characteristic change request.

(65) The operation of detecting an initial light source characteristic is shown in FIG. 4 by step 407.

(66) Other variations to the disclosed embodiments can be understood and effected by those skilled in the art in practicing the claimed invention, from a study of the drawings, the disclosure, and the appended claims. In the claims, the word comprising does not exclude other elements or steps, and the indefinite article a or an does not exclude a plurality. A single processor or other unit may fulfil the functions of several items recited in the claims. The mere fact that certain measures are recited in mutually different dependent claims does not indicate that a combination of these measures cannot be used to advantage. A computer program may be stored and/or distributed on a suitable medium, such as an optical storage medium or a solid-state medium supplied together with or as part of other hardware, but may also be distributed in other forms, such as via the Internet or other wired or wireless telecommunication systems. Any reference signs in the claims should not be construed as limiting the scope.