Fagerhult X Sony - a smart collaboration with people in focus

Fagerhult's wireless lighting control system, Organic Response, and Sony's navigation system for large offices, Nimway, are two well-established solutions for modern and sustainable environments. Through a new collaborative initiative, they can now work together to provide better overviews and control of flows in larger buildings, with direct benefits for the employee working environment.

The two different systems are integrated using common radio technology. The result is seamless communication that offers tools for more efficient and dynamic ways of working.

"There are studies showing that 33 minutes of each working day is lost when people are looking for colleagues, available rooms for meetings or the right room," says Lars-Gunnar Lundgren, Senior Business Manager, Nimway. "That is precisely the kind of problem we are solving with Nimway. In our collaboration with Fagerhult, we can now also add the value of adapted and individual lighting, which further increases well-being at the workplace."

Nimway uses indoor positioning technology powered by Bluetooth beacons and wireless sensors. Organic Response sensors with beacon functionality, integrated into Fagerhult's luminaires, help with positioning. With an app in their smart devices, employees can navigate their premises, book rooms or find their teams.

"The goal of the collaboration between Fagerhult and Sony is to simplify everyday life and create a better working climate for individual employees," says Andreas Tolf, Product and Application Manager Controls, Fagerhults Belysning AB. "We're working with simplicity for both end-users and property owners, and at the same time, future-proofing for later expansions or renovations. Tomorrow's workplaces are in intelligent buildings, which can answer the question – What do you want to do and achieve today? This requires flexible, connected premises. That's why we're excited about collaborating with Sony, where both lighting control and navigation really put employees' needs in focus."

According to current trends, the offices of the future may be even more adaptable than today's, especially after the digital transformation the pandemic has brought on for many businesses. Due to this, in activity-based offices without permanent workplaces, employees can now locate their colleagues to see if they are in the office or are working from home. Those who don't want to be disturbed can hide their locations in the app settings, and there are even "dark" zones such as WCs. Data is stored for the minimum amount of time required for people to find each other, i.e. 60 seconds, and GDPR and all data protection laws are naturally observed.

Organic Response also provides the capability to connect lighting installations to the cloud, where, among other things, an open API and a software development kit (SDK) are available. This enables expanded functionality, with more integration alternatives, for those projects that could benefit from additional customisation.

This collaboration is available in Sweden, Norway, Estonia, Poland, United Kingdom, France, Spain, Ireland, Belgium and The Netherlands.