Smart optical wireless communication systems

A control system for use in an optical wireless communications system in a manufacturing system comprising a plurality of optical communications access points, APs, which have a combined field of view which defines a coverage area, wherein the APs are for communicating with end devices, EDs, over a communications medium of an optical wireless local area network, wherein at least one ED is movable through the coverage area and thereby is in communications range of different APs along a path through the coverage area,

• wherein the control system is adapted to:
• obtain a topology of a movable area for the at least one movable ED, wherein the movable area is a subset of the coverage area and defined by the physical space through which the at least one movable ED can move without stationary obstacles or objects that impede movement, the moveable area defining paths within the topology of the coverage area;
• identify an AP which has the at least one movable ED in its field of view;
• activate a first sub-set of the APs which are determined as possibly being next along the path through the movable area from the identified AP;
• and
• set a second sub-set of the APs which are determined not to be next along the path through the movable area to a reduced power mode;
• wherein each of the APs in the second sub-set of APs is set to one of at least two reduced power modes each defined by a different power consumption and/or activation time and wherein the choice of reduced power mode for any particular AP in the second sub-set dependent on the distance between the particular AP and the at least one movable ED and
• whether the field of view of the particular AP is in the movable area.