Detecting signals embedded in visible light

Lighting equipment comprising:

• an arrangement of contiguously-mounted lighting units arranged to emit light comprising visible illumination into an environment;
• and
• transmission circuitry arranged to temporally modulate the visible illumination emitted by each of some or all of the arrangement of lighting units so as to embed a different respective signal into the visible illumination emitted by a data-transmitting luminous area of each, thereby providing multiple data-transmitting lighting units, wherein the signals are to be detected by detecting equipment comprising a camera for capturing images of the data-transmitting luminous areas of one or more of said multiple data-transmitting lighting units and further comprising an image processing module configured to detect the respective signals based on one or more of the captured images;
• wherein the transmission circuitry is further configured to spatially modulate at least part of the light emitted by each of some or all of the multiple lighting units of said arrangement with a spatial pattern, thereby providing one or more spatially-patterned lighting units, such that the image processing module of the detecting equipment can distinguish each of said one or more data-transmitting lighting units from amongst the multiple data-transmitting lighting units, and thereby detect the respective signals embedded in the illumination from said one or more data-transmitting lighting units, based on an auto correlation of said spatial pattern emitted by said one or more spatially-patterned lighting units appearing in one or more of the captured images.

Detecting equipment for use with an arrangement of contiguously-mounted lighting units arranged to emit light comprising visible illumination into an environment, the visible illumination emitted by each of some or all of the arrangement of lighting units being temporally modulated so as to embed a different respective signal into the visible illumination emitted by a data-transmitting luminous area of each, thereby providing multiple data-transmitting lighting units, wherein at least part of the light emitted by each of one or more of the arrangement of lighting units is also spatially modulated with a spatial pattern (400), thereby providing one or more spatially-patterned lighting units;

• the detecting equipment comprising:
• a camera for capturing images of the data-transmitting luminous areas of one or more of said multiple data-transmitting lighting units;
• and
• an image processing module configured to detect the respective signals based on one or more of the captured images;
• wherein the image processing module of the detecting equipment is configured to distinguish each of said one or more data-transmitting lighting units from amongst the multiple data-transmitting lighting units, and thereby detect the respective signals embedded in the illumination from said one or more data-transmitting lighting units, based on an auto correlation of said spatial pattern emitted by said one or more spatially-patterned lighting units appearing in one or more of the captured images.

A method of emitting illumination comprising:

• operating an arrangement of contiguously-mounted lighting units to emit light comprising visible illumination into an environment;
• temporally modulating the visible illumination emitted by each of some or all of the arrangement of lighting units so as to embed a different respective signal into the visible illumination emitted by a data-transmitting luminous area of each, thereby providing multiple data-transmitting lighting units, wherein the signals are to be detected by detecting equipment comprising a camera for capturing images of the data-transmitting luminous areas of one or more of said multiple data-transmitting lighting units and further comprising an image processing module configured to detect the respective signals based on one or more of the captured images;
• and
• spatially modulating at least part of the light emitted by each of one or more of the lighting units of said arrangement with a spatial pattern, thereby providing one or more spatially-patterned lighting units, such that the image processing module of the detecting equipment can distinguish each of said one or more data-transmitting lighting units from amongst the multiple data-transmitting lighting units, and thereby detect the respective signals embedded in the illumination from said one or more data-transmitting lighting units, based on an auto correlation of said spatial pattern emitted by said one or more spatially-patterned lighting units appearing in one or more of the captured images.

A method of detecting coded light from an arrangement of contiguously-mounted lighting units arranged to emit light comprising visible illumination into an environment, the visible illumination emitted by each of some or all of the arrangement of lighting units being temporally modulated so as to embed a different respective signal into the visible illumination emitted by a data-transmitting luminous surface of each, thereby providing multiple data-transmitting lighting units, wherein at least part of the light emitted by each of one or more of the arrangement of lighting units is also spatially modulated with a spatial pattern, thereby providing one or more spatially-patterned lighting units;

• the method comprising:
• using a camera to capture one or more images of the data-transmitting luminous areas of one or more of said multiple data-transmitting lighting units;
• and
• detecting the respective signals based on one or more of the captured images;
• wherein said detecting comprises distinguishing each of said one or more data-transmitting lighting units from amongst the multiple data-transmitting lighting units, and thereby detecting the respective signals embedded in the illumination from said one or more data-transmitting lighting units, based on an auto correlation of said spatial pattern emitted by said one or more spatially-patterned lighting units appearing in one or more of the captured images.

A computer program product for detecting coded light from an arrangement of contiguously-mounted lighting units arranged to emit light comprising visible illumination into an environment, the visible illumination emitted by each of some or all of the arrangement of lighting units being temporally modulated so as to embed a different respective signal into the visible illumination emitted by a data-transmitting luminous surface of each, thereby providing multiple data-transmitting lighting units, wherein at least part of the light emitted by each of one or more of the arrangement of lighting units is also spatially modulated with a spatial pattern, thereby providing one or more spatially-patterned lighting units;

• the computer program product comprising code embodied on computer-readable storage and configured so as when run on one or more processing units to perform operations of:
• receiving one or more images, captured by a camera, of the data-transmitting luminous areas of one or more of said multiple data-transmitting lighting units;
• and
• detecting the respective signals based on one or more of the captured images;
• wherein said detecting comprises distinguishing each of said one or more data-transmitting lighting units from amongst the multiple data-transmitting lighting units, and thereby detecting the respective signals embedded in the illumination from said one or more data-transmitting lighting units, based on an auto correlation of said spatial pattern emitted by said one or more spatially patterned lighting units appearing in one or more of the captured images.