30 years ago, Hollywood films like ‘Back to the future’ presented us with images of voice activated technology, flying cars and a world where people are connected by technology. The flying cars and hoverboards might not have arrived, but the world has become more connected through the expansion of the Internet of Things (IoT). Paul Hussey, who is the CEO of drivers-to-wireless controls manufacturer Harvard Technology recently interviewed with Ray Molony about the lighting industry’s need to invest in IoT. The full interview can be seen on LED’s Magazine.

Invest in R&D.

Hussey talked about companies investing millions of dollars into their research and development in a bid to improve the quality of products that utilize IoT technology. Defective products are common with new product launches. This is typically because of the materials used, product design and the manufacturing process.

Internet giants like Google and Amazon have been bold by reinvesting hundreds of millions of dollars into research and development to strengthen the quality of their products. LED suppliers must adopt a similar approach.

Hussey says, “People talk about quality. Have you spent three or four million pounds on building a quality team? Because if you haven’t, you’re just talking about it; you’re not doing it.”

Harvard has committed to this approach by building a 40 strong team of experts from different industries such as aerospace and pharmaceutical in a bid to develop superior products with a defective rate that is lower than 0.1%.

LEDified applies a similar approach with its range of products. All of the products that we bring to the market have been tested and manufactured in a way so that our customers receive the best quality.

Need to scale the product so it can be sold at a competitive price.

It’s taken about 30 years for LED lights to reach a price point that has triggered a growth in consumer demand. The investment that’s needed to create and improve LED lights with IoT technology means that the short-term prices will rise again. It could take another 5 to 10 years to manufacture the product in a way where it will match today’s LED light prices. The sooner companies start investing, the sooner they can position themselves to launch innovative LED lights into the market.

The IoT market is only going to get bigger. But the latency gap will also get bigger, should LED light suppliers not invest in the technology immediately.

If you would like to learn more about how LEDified will adapt this technology into their lights, you can get in touch with one of our specialists.