Flight Deck Lighting Addressable Smart Control Modules

As U.S. military emphasizes Information Dominance and advanced Command, Control, Communications & Intelligence capabilities in its operation, smart lighting control for specific applications and environments, including lighting for surface aviation and amphibious assault ships launch and recover aircraft whose pilots typically use Night Vision Devices (NVD) for night operations, becomes increasingly important as an integral part of the operation. Digitally addressable control of the lighting fixtures and associated circuits, for example, abroad the NVD flight deck are required in order to dim and/or turn the lights on and off. Control of this lighting is a critical operations factor. A new solution is needed for aviation lighting aboard air capable ships utilizing light emitting diode technology through a standardized smart module that will be able to recognize the lighting package configuration and what type of light fixture it is controlling through embedded firmware/software; this would allow lights of different functions and power requirements to be daisy chained, significantly reducing cable runs and installation costs. We propose to develop a comprehensive smart module solution that allows for the lights to self-configure and appear on the operator control panel in the correct lighting group and support dimming and flashing modes and auto-identify/configure capabilities.