Omniflow has more than 2000 products installed all around the world. Now it is offering a new approach to street lighting. Its connected streetlight called “Omniled” is able to capture the renewable energy around it and store it in batteries. The light only uses electricity from the grid if its batteries have run out. This results in incredible energy savings of over 90% compared to regular street lighting and over 60% compared to standard LED lighting. The solution’s strength also lies in its integration of many different services, from smart street lighting, public Wi-Fi hotspots and 5G/LTE cells to security cameras, parking assistance, electric vehicle charging stations and data collection and analysis.
Omniled takes a simple streetlight and turns it into a carbon-neutral object that can be used for multiple IoT purposes in a single infrastructure.
“Omniled takes a simple streetlight and turns it into a carbon-neutral object that can be used for multiple IoT purposes in a single infrastructure, meaning there’s no need to create a new piece of equipment for each,” explains Pedro Ruão, Founder and CEO of Omniflow. “Everything has been optimized to function independently in all manner of situations — even the maintenance of the solar panels is left to the wind!”
Demo at the 5G Lab in Orange
The invention caught Orange’s attention in July 2020 and it included Omniflow in the first season of its startup acceleration program for 5G services. For François Jézéquel, Business Developer at Orange Fab, it was an obvious choice: “The concept demonstrates the full power of 5G connectivity and has a clear impact in terms of sustainable development. This means it is fully in line with the Group’s responsibility commitments.” The streetlight has been installed at the Orange 5G Lab at Orange Gardens in Châtillon, on the outskirts of Paris. It stands on the edge of the cafeteria terrace with a view to giving diners an insight into the technology’s practical applications. Connected to the network via a 5G modem, Omniled carries out air quality surveys and counts the number of people who visit the terrace throughout the day. This data is then transmitted and processed locally thanks to edge computing.
A Smart Solution for a Sustainable 5G Network
With this demo—a collaborative effort from Orange, Omniflow and other key smart city players—Orange hopes to convince local authorities of the added value this technology can bring. “The possibilities are endless,” Ruão continues. “With Siemens, we have developed the smart crosswalk to make things safer for pedestrians in areas with heavy traffic. Another example is the smart bus stop, which enhances the user experience of passengers by providing live information, audio messages, USB charging stations and security cameras. And that’s all thanks to our lamppost.”
Omniled, which can also integrate 5G base stations, provides carriers with a very useful alternative for rolling out their 5G networks to places where there is still little coverage. The solution has an elegant design that is perfectly suited to both urban and rural settings and, most importantly, it is energy efficient. It’s a compelling argument in favor of an even more sustainable 5G mobile network.
