Patent Publication Number: US-9433062-B2

Title: Luminaire with ambient sensing and autonomous control capabilities

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     1. Technical Field 
     The present disclosure generally relates to the field of illumination devices and, more particularly, to the autonomous operation of illumination devices and systems. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     Luminaires enjoy widespread use in a variety of industrial, commercial, and municipal applications. Such applications can include general or area lighting of workspaces, roadways, parking lots, and the like. Multiple luminaires are typically arranged in patterns and positioned at intervals sufficient to provide a minimum overall level of illumination across the area of interest. For example, luminaires may be spaced at intervals along a driveway in a multilevel parking garage to provide an overall level of illumination that permits safe ingress and egress by pedestrians as well as permits safe operation of motor vehicles within the parking garage. In a similar manner, luminaires may be spaced at intervals throughout a commercial center parking lot to promote safe operation of motor vehicles, permit safe ingress and egress by customers, and foster a sense of safety and well-being for business patrons within the commercial center. Similarly, a number of luminaires may be spaced along a roadway to provide a level of illumination permitting safe operation of motor vehicles on the roadway and, where applicable, safe passage of pedestrians on sidewalks adjoining the roadway. 
     To simplify power distribution and control wiring, such luminaires are often organized into groups or similar hierarchical power and control structures. For example, multiple luminaires along a roadway may be grouped together on a common power circuit that is controlled using a single, centralized, controller to collectively adjust the luminous output of all of the luminaires in the group. In another instance, multiple luminaires within a parking garage may be controlled using a single photocell mounted on the exterior of the parking garage. Such installations may however compromise operational flexibility for ease of installation and simplicity of operation. 
     In the face of an increased demand by legislators, power providers, and system users for energy efficiency and in light of an increased demand for safer, well illuminated, public and private spaces requirements, new strategies for the control of luminaires are needed. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY 
     Lighting systems including a number of illumination devices such as luminaires enjoy pervasive and widespread use in industrial, commercial and municipal environments. Such systems are relied upon to provide a generally constant level of illumination sufficient to meet the needs of the normal activity performed or the conditions commonly encountered in a given area. Thus, lighting systems in industrial environments may be designed to provide a relatively high level of illumination at grade sufficient for workers to safely perform their duties. Lighting systems in commercial environments, such as interior and exterior parking lots, may be designed to provide a relatively moderate level of illumination at grade that is sufficient to provide a sense of security and well-being to business patrons and employees as they transit the area either in vehicles or on foot. Lighting systems in municipal environments, such as along roadways and sidewalks, may be designed to provide a relatively moderate level of illumination at grade that is sufficient to provide a sense of security to pedestrians as well as sufficient to alert drivers to the presence of roadside hazards in conjunction with the on-board vehicle lighting systems. 
     Traditionally, each of the luminaires in a lighting network was either individually controlled (e.g., through the use of a photocell) or groups of luminaires were commonly controlled (e.g., power was interrupted to all luminaires in a parking lot at 6:30 A.M.). Such control is inefficient and falls short of current trends in cost minimization and environmental consciousness. The ongoing increase in growth and reduction in cost of wired and wireless communication technology provides a cost effective and energy efficient way of networking luminaires in a lighting system to enable the coordination and cooperative operation of all or a portion of the luminaires forming the lighting system. 
     In particular, wiredly or wirelessly networking at least a portion of the luminaires in a lighting system provides the ability to adjust, adapt, or control the luminous output of individual luminaires or groups of luminaires autonomously and in real time responsive to external events occurring in the vicinity of one or more luminaires. Such external events may, for example, be sensed using one or more sensors communicably coupled to some or all of the luminaires. The occurrence of such external events can be sensed by a first luminaire and communicated to any number of other luminaires within the network. 
     Such operational capabilities and efficiency may be enhanced where each of the luminaires in the lighting system is individually addressable. A network of addressable luminaires, each assigned to a specific physical or geographic location permits the system to respond to an external event by adjusting the luminous output of particular luminaires. Such allows, for example, an increase in the luminous output of a first luminaire proximate an elevator or stairway when a second luminaire proximate a parking garage entrance ramp senses the movement of a vehicle on the entrance ramp. 
     Where a number (or even all) of the luminaires are equipped with sensors, the resultant sensor network is not only able to detect an event (e.g., movement of an object), but also to predict future events and respond by increasing or decreasing illumination levels according to one or more sensed or determined characteristics or parameters of the sensed event (e.g., direction of travel or velocity of the object). In this way, the networked luminaires forming the lighting system are able to act as a cellular automaton where the control of the luminous output of each luminaire (i.e., each “cell” in the cellular automaton) is autonomously adjusted, affected, or controlled based on both rules in the form of logic executed by a controller in the luminaire as well as the state of one or more other luminaires (i.e., the “neighborhood of the cell” in the cellular automaton). In some instances, a common clocking or timing signal may not be present in the luminaire network, in which case, the network may function as an asynchronous cellular automaton. 
     An illumination system may be summarized as including a luminaire including at least one light source; a controller with defined logic to autonomously operate the at least one light source responsive to a signal indicative of motion; and a communications transceiver communicably coupled to the controller to communicate with at least one other luminaire. 
     The illumination system may further include at least one sensor communicably coupled to the controller, to detect the occurrence of at least one event external to the luminaire. 
     The at least one sensor may include at least a motion sensor and the signal indicative of motion may include a signal indicative of motion provided by the motion sensor. The at least one sensor may further include a photosensitive transducer to further provide a signal indicative of an ambient light condition external to the luminaire. The defined logic may further autonomously operate the light source responsive to the signal indicative of the ambient light condition external to the luminaire. The signal indicative of motion may include a signal indicative of motion provided by the at least one other luminaire via the communications transceiver. The controller may further include at least one time-keeping circuit. The controller may identify one of a plurality of luminaires as closest in physical proximity to the luminaire. The controller may autonomously retransmit the signal indicative of motion to the one identified closest luminaire. The luminaire may include one of a plurality of luminaires, the controller in each of the plurality of luminaires having an identifier known to at least one other of the plurality of luminaires. The controller may further selectively autonomously communicate at least one signal via the communications transceiver to at least one selected recipient luminaire, the at least one signal addressed to the at least one selected recipient luminaire using the respective identifier of the at least one selected recipient luminaire identifier. The at least one recipient luminaire may include at least one luminaire identified by the controller as closest in physical proximity to the luminaire. The at least one light source may include at least one solid-state light source. 
     An illumination system may be summarized as including a luminaire including at least one light source disposed at least partially in a housing; a controller with defined logic to selectively autonomously operate the at least one light source responsive to a signal indicative of motion remote from the luminaire, the signal indicative of motion provided by at least one other luminaire; a communications transceiver communicably coupled to the controller to communicate with the at least one other luminaire; and at least one sensor communicably coupled to the controller and physically coupled to the housing, to detect the occurrence of at least one event external to the luminaire and to selectively autonomously operate the at least one light source responsive to the detection of the at least one event external to the luminaire. 
     The at least one sensor may include at least one motion sensor to provide a signal indicative of motion proximate the luminaire. The at least one sensor may further include at least one photosensitive transducer to provide a signal indicative of an ambient illumination condition external to the luminaire. The controller may selectively autonomously operate the at least one light source responsive at least in part to the signal indicative of the ambient illumination condition external to the luminaire. The controller may further selectively autonomously operate the at least one light source responsive to the signal indicative of the ambient illumination condition external to the luminaire in the absence of a signal indicative of motion, and may selectively autonomously operate the at least one light source responsive to the signal indicative of motion when the signal indicative of motion is present. The controller may further include a communicably coupled time-keeping circuit and the controller may further selectively autonomously operate the at least one light source in coordination with a determined time of occurrence of an expected solar event including at least one of: an expected sunset event or an expected sunrise event. The defined logic may further autonomously operate the at least one light source in coordination with the determined time of occurrence of an expected solar event in the absence of a signal indicative of motion, and may autonomously operate the at least one light source in coordination with the signal indicative of motion when the signal indicative of motion is present. The signal indicative of motion may include a signal indicative of motion provided by the at least one other luminaire via the communications transceiver. The at least one other luminaire may include at least one of a plurality of luminaires determined by the controller as being closest in physical proximity to the luminaire. The defined logic may cause the controller to further autonomously retransmit the signal indicative of motion to the at least one other luminaire. The luminaire may include one of a plurality of luminaires, the controller in each of the plurality of luminaires having an identifier known to at least one other of the plurality of luminaires. The defined logic may cause the controller to further selectively autonomously communicate the at least one signal via the communications transceiver to at least one selected recipient luminaire, the at least one signal addressed to the at least one selected recipient luminaire using the respective identifier of the at least one selected recipient luminaire. The at least one other luminaire may include at least one of a plurality of luminaires determined by the controller as being closest in physical proximity to the luminaire. The at least one light source may include at least one solid-state light source. 
     A method of controlling a plurality of luminaires may be summarized as including receiving from another of the plurality of luminaires at a controller via a communicably coupled communications transceiver at least one signal including information indicative of at least one motion-related parameter of an object remote from and external to a luminaire at least partially housing the controller and the communications transceiver; autonomously adjusting by the controller a luminous output of at least one light source in response to the receipt of the information indicative of the at least one motion-related parameter of the object; and autonomously communicating via the communications transceiver communicably coupled to the controller at least one signal including information indicative of at least one of: the at least one motion-related parameter of the object or the luminous output of the luminaire. 
     Receiving information indicative of the at least one motion-related parameter of the object may include receiving a signal including information indicative of at least one of: a velocity of the object or a direction of motion of the object. Receiving a signal including information indicative of at least one of: a velocity of the object or a direction of motion of the object may include receiving a signal from at least one other of the plurality of luminaires via the communications transceiver communicably coupled to the controller. Receiving a signal including information indicative of at least one of: a velocity of the object or a direction of motion of the object may include receiving a signal including information indicative of at least one of: a velocity of the object or a direction of motion of the object as determined by a single motion sensor. Receiving the signal indicative of at least one of the velocity of the object or the motion of the object may include receiving information provided by at least two of the plurality of luminaires based at least in part on a physical distance between the at least two luminaires and a time required by the object to transit the physical distance between the at least two luminaires. Receiving a signal including information indicative of at least one of: a velocity of the object or a direction of motion of the object may include receiving a signal from at least one motion sensor communicably coupled to the controller and disposed at least partially within the luminaire. Receiving the signal indicative of at least one of the velocity of the object or the motion of the object may include receiving information indicative a change in distance between the at least one motion sensor and the object over a defined time interval. 
     The method of controlling a plurality of luminaires may further include selectively autonomously adjusting by the controller in each of a number of selected luminaires the luminous output of each of the respective number of the selected luminaires based at least in part on at least one of the velocity of the object or the direction of motion of the object. 
     The method of controlling a plurality of luminaires may further include selectively autonomously adjusting by the controller in each of the number of selected luminaires a rate of change in the luminous output of each of the respective number of the selected luminaires based at least in part on at least one of the velocity of the object or the direction of motion of the object. 
     Selectively autonomously adjusting a rate of change in the luminous output of each of the number of the selected luminaires may include adjusting the rate of change in the luminous output of the number of the selected luminaires based on the velocity and the direction of motion of the object. Responsive to receipt of a signal indicating a motion towards the number of selected luminaires, the rate of change in the luminous output of the number of selected luminaires may be adjusted by autonomously increasing the rate at which the luminous output is increased in proportion to the velocity of the object. Responsive to receipt of a signal indicating a motion away from the number of selected luminaires, the rate of change in the luminous output of the number of selected luminaires may be adjusted by autonomously increasing the rate at which the luminous output is decreased in inverse proportion to the velocity of the object. Autonomously communicating at least one signal including information indicative of at least one of: the at least one motion-related parameter of the object or the luminous output of the luminaire may include selectively transmitting at least one signal addressed to at least one selected recipient luminaire. Selectively transmitting at least one signal addressed to at least one selected recipient luminaire may include selectively transmitting at least one signal to a selected recipient luminaire having the closest physical proximity to the luminaire. Selectively transmitting at least one signal addressed to at least one selected recipient luminaire may include selectively transmitting at least one signal to a selected, defined, cell containing a number of recipient luminaires selected from the plurality of luminaires based on at least one of: an identifier assigned to each of the respective selected luminaires or a physical location of each of the respective selected luminaires. Adjusting a luminous output of at least one light source in response to the receipt of the signal including information indicative of the at least one motion-related parameter of the object may include: autonomously increasing the luminous output of the at least one light source upon the receipt of the at least one signal, and autonomously decreasing the luminous output of the at least one light source a defined amount of time after a loss of the at least one signal. 
     The method of controlling a plurality of luminaires may further include apportioning the plurality of luminaires into a number of cells based on at least one of: an identifier assigned to each of the plurality of luminaires or a physical location of each of the plurality of luminaires, each of the number of cells including at least one luminaire; communicating to each of the luminaires in at least one cell the signal including information indicative of at least one motion-related parameter of an object external to the luminaire; and responsive to the receipt of the signal, adjusting the luminous output of each of the luminaires in the cell. 
     The method of controlling a plurality of luminaires may further include receiving by the controller at least one signal including information indicative a sensed ambient illumination level external to the at least one luminaire; and adjusting by the controller a luminous output of the at least one light source in response to the receipt of the information indicative of the sensed ambient illumination level. 
     Receiving by the controller at least one signal including information indicative a sensed ambient illumination level external to the at least one luminaire may include receiving a signal from at least one other of the plurality of luminaires via the communications transceiver. Receiving by the controller at least one signal including information indicative a sensed ambient illumination level external to the at least one luminaire may include receiving a signal from a photosensitive transducer communicably coupled to the controller and disposed at least partially in the luminaire. Adjusting a luminous output of the at least one light source may include adjusting the luminous output of the at least one light source to maintain the ambient illumination level as sensed by the photosensitive transducer in a defined range. The defined range may include the level of illumination provided by at least one other of the plurality of luminaires as measured by photosensitive transducer on the at least one other luminaire and communicated to the controller by the at least one other luminaire. 
     The method of controlling a plurality of luminaires may further include transmitting a signal including data indicative of the luminous output of the luminaire to at least one other of the plurality of luminaires. 
     A method of controlling a plurality of luminaires may be summarized as including communicably coupling each of a plurality of luminaires to at least one other of the plurality of luminaires to provide at least one communication path between any two luminaires of all of the plurality of luminaires, where there are at least three luminaires in the plurality of luminaires; receiving at a controller via a communicably coupled communications transceiver at least one signal including information indicative of at least one motion-related parameter of an object external to a luminaire that houses the controller and the communications transceiver; autonomously adjusting by the controller a luminous output of at least one light source in the luminaire in response to the receipt of the information indicative of the at least one motion-related parameter of the object; and autonomously communicating by the controller via the communications transceiver the at least one signal to at least one other recipient luminaire in the plurality of luminaires, the at least one signal including information indicative of at least one of: the at least one motion-related parameter of the object or the luminous output of the luminaire. 
     Receiving at least one signal including information indicative of at least one motion-related parameter of an object external to a luminaire may include receiving the at least one signal from at least one other luminaire in the plurality of luminaires. Receiving at least one signal including information indicative of at least one motion-related parameter of an object external to a luminaire may include receiving the at least one signal from at least one sensor communicably coupled to the controller where the at least one sensor may not be part of one of the other luminaires. Autonomously communicating the at least one signal to at least one other recipient luminaire in the plurality of luminaires may include selectively autonomously communicating the at least one signal along with data indicative of the identity of the luminaire to the selected recipient luminaire. Autonomously communicating the at least one signal to at least one other recipient luminaire in the plurality of luminaires may further include selectively autonomously communicating the at least one signal along with data indicative of the identity of the luminaire addressed to one or more selected recipient luminaires. Autonomously communicating the at least one signal to at least one other recipient luminaire in the plurality of luminaires may further include selectively autonomously communicating the at least one signal along with data indicative of the identity of the luminaire to a defined cell containing a number of recipient luminaires selected from the plurality of luminaires based on at least one of: an identifier assigned to each of the respective recipient luminaires or a physical location of each of the respective recipient luminaires. Autonomously communicating the at least one signal to at least one other recipient luminaire in the plurality of luminaires may include selectively autonomously communicating the at least one signal including data indicative of the identity of the luminaire to one or more selected recipient luminaires. 
     The method of controlling a plurality of luminaires may further include determining by the recipient luminaire a velocity of the object based on a spatial distance between the luminaire and the recipient luminaire and an elapsed time between receipt of the at least one signal and detection of the object by the recipient luminaire. 
     Each of the luminaires in the plurality of luminaires may include at least one time-keeping circuit to temporally synchronize each of the plurality of luminaires. Autonomously communicating the at least one signal to at least one other recipient luminaire in the plurality of luminaires may include selectively autonomously communicating the at least one signal including data indicative of the velocity of the object, data indicative of the identity of the luminaire and data indicative of the time of detection by the luminaire to one or more selected recipient luminaires. 
     The method of controlling a plurality of luminaires may further include determining by the recipient luminaire an expected time of arrival of the object based on a spatial distance between the luminaire and the recipient luminaire and the velocity of the object. 
     A method of controlling a plurality of luminaires may be summarized as including apportioning the plurality of luminaires into a number of cells based on at least one of: an identifier assigned to each of the respective luminaires in the plurality of luminaires or a physical location of each of the respective selected luminaires in the plurality of luminaires, each of the number of cells including at least one luminaire; directly or indirectly communicably coupling each of the luminaires within a cell with all other luminaires in the cell; directly communicably coupling at least one bridge luminaire in each cell with at least one other bridge luminaire in a different cell, wherein any one of the plurality of luminaires in a first cell is communicably coupled with any other of the plurality of luminaires in a second cell via the direct communicable coupling between a bridge luminaire in the first cell and a bridge luminaire in the second cell; receiving at a luminaire in a first cell at least one signal including information indicative of at least one motion-related parameter of an object external to the luminaire; autonomously adjusting a luminous output of the luminaire in response to the receipt of the information indicative of the at least one motion-related parameter of the object; and autonomously communicating at least one signal to at least one other recipient luminaire in the plurality of luminaires, the at least one signal including information indicative of at least one of: the at least one motion-related parameter of the object or the luminous output of the luminaire. 
     The method of controlling a plurality of luminaires may further include adjusting the luminous output of all luminaires in the recipient luminaire cell responsive to receipt of the at least one signal. 
     The method of controlling a plurality of luminaires may further include retransmitting the at least one signal by the recipient luminaire to a second recipient luminaire in a different cell than the recipient luminaire via the communicable coupling between the respective bridge luminaires in the recipient luminaire cell and the second recipient luminaire cell. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS 
       In the drawings, identical reference numbers identify similar elements or acts. The sizes and relative positions of elements in the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale. For example, the shapes of various elements and angles are not drawn to scale, and some of these elements are arbitrarily enlarged and positioned to improve drawing legibility. Further, the particular shapes of the elements as drawn, are not intended to convey any information regarding the actual shape of the particular elements, and have been solely selected for ease of recognition in the drawings. 
         FIG. 1  is a sectional view of a luminaire including a power subsystem, a control subsystem including a communications interface and a number of sensors, and a lighting subsystem including a number of light sources, according to one non-limiting illustrated embodiment. 
         FIG. 2  is a schematic view of luminaire with a power subsystem and a control subsystem including at least one microcontroller, a number of sensors to sense one or more external events in the vicinity of the luminaire and a wired or wireless communications interface, according to one non-limiting illustrated embodiment. 
         FIG. 3  is a plan view of an illustrative parking lot lighting system comprising a plurality of networked luminaires grouped into a plurality of cells based on an address or a location of the luminaire, according to one non-limiting illustrated embodiment. 
         FIG. 4  is an elevation view of an illustrative parking garage lighting system comprising a plurality of networked luminaires each including at least an ambient light sensor and a motion sensor, according to one non-limiting illustrated embodiment. 
         FIG. 5  is a plan view of an illustrative roadway and sidewalk illuminated using a plurality of luminaires, each including at least one external event sensor, according to one non-limiting illustrated embodiment. 
         FIG. 6  is a high level flow diagram of illustrative machine executable code, rules, or logic useful in the autonomous operation of one or more communicably coupled, networked, luminaires, according to one non-limiting illustrated embodiment. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     In the following description, certain specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of various disclosed embodiments. However, one skilled in the relevant art will recognize that embodiments may be practiced without one or more of these specific details, or with other methods, components, materials, etc. In other instances, well-known or well-documented wired and wireless networking protocols such as ZigBee®, Ethernet, power line carrier (PLC), Bluetooth®, IEEE 802.11; well-known or well documented electronic components such as power converters, solid-state lighting systems, and the like; and logical devices such as controllers, motion sensors, photosensitive transducers and the like have either not been shown or shown abstractly and have not described in detail to avoid unnecessarily obscuring descriptions of the embodiments. 
     Unless the context requires otherwise, throughout the specification and claims which follow, the word “comprise” and variations thereof, such as “comprises” and “comprising,” are to be construed in an open, inclusive sense that is as “including, but not limited to.” 
     As used in this specification and the appended claims, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” include plural referents unless the content clearly dictates otherwise. It should also be noted that the term “or” is generally employed in its sense including “and/or” unless the content clearly dictates otherwise. 
     Reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” means that a particular feature, structure or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment. Thus, the appearances of the phrases “in one embodiment” or “in an embodiment” in various places throughout this specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment. Furthermore, the particular features, structures, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. Additionally, the terms “lighting,” “luminous output” and “illumination” are used herein interchangeably. For instance, the phrases “level of illumination” or “level of light output” have the same meanings. Also, for instance, the phrases “illumination source” and “light source” have the same meanings. 
     The headings and Abstract of the Disclosure provided herein are for convenience only and do not interpret the scope or meaning of the embodiments. 
       FIG. 1  shows an illustrative luminaire  100  including a power subsystem  102  communicably coupled to a control subsystem  104  and electrically coupled to one or more lighting subsystems  106   a - 106   b  (collectively “lighting subsystems  106 ”) each having any equal or unequal number of light sources  120   a - 120   n  (collectively “light sources  120 ”). The control subsystem  104  may be communicably and electrically coupled to the power subsystem  102  via one or more interfaces  108   a - 108   b  (collectively “interfaces  108 ”). The lighting subsystems  106  may be communicably and electrically coupled to the power subsystem  102  via one or more interfaces  110   a - 110   b  (collectively “interfaces  110 ”). The luminaire  100  can include one or more brackets  124  that permit the support or suspension of the luminaire from a pole, wall, building or similar rigid structure. A transparent, translucent, or opaque shade, diffuser, reflector, or cover  122  may be attached to, and optionally form a portion of, the lighting subsystems  106 . 
     Although depicted as physically coupled for simplicity and ease of discussion, any or all of the power subsystem  102 , the control subsystem  104 , or the lighting subsystems  106  may be disposed in any configuration including remote from each other. For example, in one instance, the control subsystem  104  may be disposed in an exterior location that is remote from the power subsystem  102  and the lighting subsystem  106  which are disposed in an interior location. In another example, the lighting subsystems  106  may be disposed in an electrically classified area (e.g., a potentially flammable or explosive environment that requires the use of an explosion-proof enclosure) while the power subsystem  102  and the control subsystem  104  may be disposed in an electrically unclassified area (e.g., a non-flammable or explosive environment that does not require the use of an explosion-proof enclosure). In such instances, the power subsystem  102 , the control subsystem  104 , and the lighting subsystems  106  can be wiredly or wirelessly communicably or electrically coupled. 
     The luminaire  100  may additionally include wiring (not shown in  FIG. 1 ) to supply power to the power subsystem  102  from an external electrical power source such as an electrical power grid or network. In some instances, the light sources  120  may be formed into a replaceable component, for example a plurality of individual solid state light sources or solid state light source strings formed into a bulb or similar unitary structure in each of the lighting subsystems  106 . The lighting subsystems  106  may, in turn, be physically attached and electrically coupled to the power subsystem  102  using a threaded (e.g., an E26 or E40 screw in connector), plug, or bayonet-type interface  110 . Alternatively, the light sources  120  may be integral with the power subsystem  102 , particularly where the lighting subsystems  106  comprise a number of solid-state light emitters and associated driver circuit hardware which have a relatively long operational life. 
     The control subsystem  104  includes a number of sensors  112   a - 112   b  (collectively “sensors  112 ”), one or more communications interfaces  114  and one or more electrical devices or systems capable of altering, adjusting or otherwise controlling the power flow to or luminosity, luminous output, or illumination state of the lighting subsystems  106 . In at least some instances, the control subsystem  104  can include one or more electrical devices or systems to communicably couple the luminaire  100  to one or more external devices including an external controller or one or more other luminaires  100 . The control subsystem  104  may include defined machine executable code, rules, or logic used to alter, adjust or control the operation or luminous output of at least a portion of the lighting subsystems  106 . Such machine executable code, rules, or logic may provide for the control of the lighting subsystems  106  in response to the receipt of one or more signals provided by the sensors  112 , in response to the receipt of one or more signals provided by another luminaire  100 , in response to the receipt of one or more signals provided by an external electronic device, or any combination thereof. In at least some instances, the machine executable code, rules, or logic permit the luminaire  100  to autonomously control the luminous output of some or all of the lighting subsystems  106  responsive to: a condition sensed by at least one of the sensors  112 , a condition sensed by another luminaire and communicated to the luminaire  100 , or both. In at least some instances, the machine executable code, rules, or logic permit the luminaire  100  to autonomously generate and communicate to other recipient luminaires  100  one or more signals containing data indicative of at least one of a local external event in the vicinity of and sensed by at least one of the sensors  112  or a remote external event communicated to the luminaire  100  by another, communicably coupled, luminaire. 
     The control subsystem  104  can alter, adjust or control one or more functions of the lighting subsystems  106 . Such functions may include, but are not limited to altering, adjusting or controlling the luminous output of the lighting subsystems  106  in response to at least one of: a local external event sensed by at least one of the sensors  112 , a remote external event that was sensed by another luminaire and communicated to the luminaire  100 , or both. For example, the luminous output of at least a portion of the lighting subsystems  106  may be increased by the control subsystem  104  in response to a sensed decrease in distance between the luminaire  100  and an external object moving towards the luminaire  100 . In another example, the luminous output of at least a portion of the lighting subsystems  106  may be decreased by the control subsystem  104  in response to a sensed increase in distance between the luminaire  100  and an external object moving away from the luminaire  100 . In another example, the luminous output of at least a portion of the lighting subsystems  106  may be increased by the control subsystem  104  in response to receipt of a signal from another luminaire indicating motion of an external object in a direction towards the luminaire  100 . Advantageously, receipt of such a signal permits the autonomous increase in luminous output of the lighting subsystems  106  before the external object is sensed by the sensors  112  on the luminaire  100 . The machine executable code, rules, or logic used by the control subsystem  104  thus facilitates the operation of the luminaire  100  in anticipation of the occurrence of one or more future events. 
     The power subsystem  102  can be disposed at least partially in a housing  126 . The housing  126  can include any structure suitable for internally and/or externally accommodating all or a portion of the power subsystem  102 . At times, the housing may be a metallic weatherproof enclosure (e.g., a National Electrical Manufacturers Association “NEMA” type 3, 3R, or 4 enclosure) or a corrosion resistant weatherproof enclosure (e.g., a NEMA 4X enclosure). At least a portion of the housing  126  may be substantially transparent to radio frequency (RF) or optical electromagnetic radiation to permit the wireless communicable coupling of the power subsystem  102  with the control subsystem  104 . In at least some instances, the interfaces  110  include any current or future developed physical fastener or electrical conductor (e.g., one or more threaded sockets, blade or pin-type bayonets or the like) that can be disposed at least partially on an exterior surface of the housing  126 . 
     The control subsystem  104  can be disposed at least partially in a housing  128 . The housing  128  can include any structure suitable for internally and/or externally accommodating all or a portion of the control subsystem  104 . At times, the housing may be a metallic weatherproof enclosure (e.g., a National Electrical Manufacturers Association “NEMA” type 3, 3R, or 4 enclosure) or a corrosion resistant weatherproof enclosure (e.g., a NEMA 4X enclosure). At least a portion of the housing  128  may be substantially transparent to radio frequency (RF) or optical electromagnetic radiation to permit the wireless communicable coupling of the control subsystem  104  to the power subsystem  102  and to one or more wireless networks or external wireless electronic devices. In at least some instances, the interfaces  108  coupling the control subsystem  104  to the power subsystem  102  may include any current or future developed physical fastener or electrical conductor (e.g., one or more pads, prongs, spades, protrusions, or similar electrically conductive structures) that can be disposed at least partially on an exterior surface of the housing  128 . Such surface mount interfaces  108  are particularly advantageous where the control subsystem  104  is fitted to the power subsystem  102  during manufacture or where the control subsystem  104  is retrofitted to an existing power subsystem  102  after installation. In other instances, the interfaces  108  can include a number of cables, each having a number of conductors linking the power subsystem  102  and the control subsystem  104 . Such remote mount devices are particularly useful where the control subsystem  104  is mounted at a distance from the power subsystem  102 . In some instances, the interfaces  108  can include a combination of one or more physical fasteners to physically attach the housing  128  to the housing  126  and one or more electrical connectors to communicably couple the control subsystem  104  to the power subsystem  102 . 
     The number of sensors  112  coupled to the control subsystem  104  can include any number or combination of sensors capable of sensing or otherwise detecting the occurrence of one or more external events in the vicinity of the luminaire  100 . Such events can include, but are not limited to, events involving one or more objects external to the luminaire  100 , events involving the ambient environment about the luminaire  100 , or combinations thereof. For example, events involving one or more objects external to the luminaire  100  may include, but are not limited to, the movement of an object in the vicinity of the luminaire, the proximity of an object in the vicinity of the luminaire, or the presence of a combustive or detonative event in the vicinity of the luminaire. In another example, events involving the ambient environment about the luminaire  100  may include, but are not limited to, the ambient illumination about the luminaire, the presence of electromagnetic activity about the luminaire, the presence or absence of one or more defined substances about the luminaire, the presence of high heat levels about the luminaire, the presence of one or more defined biological materials in the environment about the luminaire, the presence of a flammable or explosive environment about the luminaire, the presence of lightning, sudden atmospheric pressure drops or other indicators of severe weather, or the like. The sensors  112  can provide an analog or digital signal output that includes data representative or otherwise indicative of the sensed or detected condition. In some instances, a single sensor  112  may provide an analog or digital signal output that includes data indicative of two or more sensed or detected events or conditions. For example, in some instances, a single sensor  112  may provide an output signal that includes data indicative of distance between the luminaire  100  and an object or motion of an object in the vicinity of the luminaire  100  as well as data indicative of the ambient light level about the luminaire  100 . 
     In at least some instances, the sensors  112  can include a sensor capable of providing a signal output including information indicative of the distance between the sensor and an object in the vicinity of the luminaire  100 . Such a signal, when received over a defined time interval allows the control subsystem  104  to determine the direction of travel of the object (e.g. towards or away from the luminaire  100 ) or the velocity of the object. In other instances, the sensors  112  can include a sensor capable of providing a signal output including information indicative of the motion of an object in the vicinity of the luminaire  100 . Such distance or motion sensors  112  can take the form of a passive infrared (“PIR”) sensor, an optical sensor, an acoustic sensor, a radio frequency (“RF”) sensor, or any future developed sensor technology. In at least some instances, the sensors  112  can include one or more sensors capable of providing a signal output including information indicative of the ambient illumination about the luminaire  100 . Such a signal permits the 
     The communications interface  114  coupled to the control subsystem  104  can include any number or wired or wireless interfaces capable of transmitting and receiving one or more analog or digital signals. The communications interface  114  can transmit and receive signals using any current or future defined industry standard or open communications protocols such as IEEE 802.11 (“WiFi”), ZigBee®, Bluetooth®, Near Field Communications (“NFC”), Code Division Multiple Access cellular (“CDMA”), Global System for Mobile Communications cellular (“GSM”), or the like. The communications interface  114  can transmit and receive signals using any current or future defined proprietary or closed communications protocols. The signals transmitted and received via the communications interface  114  can include data indicative of one or more sensed events such as events sensed by the sensors  112 , data indicative of one or more expected events such as the expected occurrence of a sunrise or sunset event, data indicative of one or more remote events such as an event sensed by another luminaire, data indicative of one or more operational parameters such as a luminous output level of the luminaire  100 , or combinations thereof. 
     The lighting subsystems  106  can each include any number of light sources  120  capable of providing a luminous output at least in the human visible electromagnetic spectrum. In some instances, some or all of the lighting subsystems  106  may include one or more non-dimmable light sources  120 . In other instances, some or all of the lighting subsystems may include one or more dimmable light sources. Some or all of the light sources  120  may take the form of one or more incandescent light bulbs, one or more fluorescent light bulbs, HID light bulbs or lights, or one or more arc lamps. More preferably, some or all of the light sources  120  may take the form of one or more solid state light sources, for instance an array of light emitting diodes (LEDs), organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs), or polymer light emitting diodes (PLEDs). The one or more light sources  120  do not necessarily have to be enclosed in a bulb structure. For example, the light sources may take the form of one-, two-, or even three-dimensional arrays of individual LEDs or strings of LEDs. Light source configurations other than the individual luminaire shown in  FIG. 1  may be used to equal effect. For example, the luminaire may include a plurality of directional lighting subsystems  106  mounted on a common fixture and operated using a single control subsystem  104 . 
       FIG. 2  shows additional details of an illustrative power subsystem  102  and an illustrative control subsystem  104  disposed in a luminaire  200 . The luminaire  200  includes the power subsystem  102 , the control subsystem  104  and a single lighting subsystem  106  that includes a number of light sources  120   a - 120   n . Power circuits  204   a - 204   n  (collectively “power circuits  204 ”) are used to provide electric power from the power subsystem  102  to the light sources  120 . 
     The power subsystem  102  can include one or more devices, systems, or combination of systems and devices (collectively “power converter  202 ”) suitable for converting an incoming power supply to any power output having a waveform and proper voltage and current levels to illuminate all or a portion of the lighting subsystems  106 . In at least some instances, the power converter  202  can include a switch-mode power converter such as that described in U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/723,675, filed Nov. 7, 2012. A switch mode power converter may include one or more rectification sections, one or more high speed switching sections, one or more transformer sections, and one or more output rectification sections. In at least some instances, the switch-mode power converter can include a drive signal controller that provides a variable frequency, variable pulse width, or variable pulse width and frequency pulse width modulated (PWM) drive signal to the high speed switching section. Adjusting either or both the frequency or the pulse width of the PWM drive signal can alter, adjust or control the power delivered by the power converter  202  to the lighting subsystems  106 . In at least some instances, the control subsystem  104  can provide one or more control outputs to the drive signal controller to alter, adjust, or control the quantity of power delivered to, and consequently the luminous output of, the lighting subsystems  106 . 
     In other instances, the power subsystem  102  may include a power converter  202  comprising a number of power adapters and driver circuits. In at least some instances, the driver circuits may include one or more mechanical or electromechanical switching devices to interrupt the flow of power to the light source  110 . In some instances, the driver circuits can include one or more semiconductor switching devices (e.g., a Mixed Oxide Semiconductor Field Effect Transistor or “MOSFET” of a bipolar junction transistor or “BJT”) to alter, adjust or otherwise control the flow of power provided by the power converter  202  to the lighting subsystems  106 . In yet other instances, the driver circuits can include one or more pulse width modulated (PWM) switching devices or systems to alter, adjust or otherwise control the flow of power provided by the power converter  202  to the lighting subsystems  106 . In at least some instances, the control subsystem  104  can open, close, or otherwise control the operational state of the one or more switches, semiconductor switching devices or similar circuit interrupters. 
     The power subsystem  102  may be used to provide all or a portion of the power to the lighting subsystems  106 . In such instances, a control signal provided by the control subsystem  104  to the power subsystem  102  may be used to selectively alter, adjust, or control the power output or operation of an AC/DC switched mode converter. For example, an IRS2548D SMPS/LED Driver PFC+Half-Bridge Control IC as manufactured by International Rectifier Corp. (Los Angeles, Calif.) may be used to power some or all of the lighting subsystems  106 . In some instances, the power supplied to the lighting subsystems  106  and consequently the luminous output of the light sources  120  in each of the lighting subsystems  106  may be based partially or entirely upon data or information included in the output signal provided by the control subsystem  104  to the power subsystem  102 . In such instances, the presence of a low output signal (e.g., a digital “0” signal) from the control subsystem  102  may increase or permit the flow of current to some or all of the solid state light sources  120  while the presence of a high output signal (e.g., a digital “1” signal) from the control subsystem  104  may decrease or inhibit the flow of current to some or all the solid state light sources  120 . 
     As used herein and in the claims, adjusting an illumination level includes turning ON a light source from an OFF state in which no light or illumination is produced to an ON state at which at least some light or illumination is produced. As used herein and in the claims, adjusting an illumination level includes turning OFF a light source from an ON state in which at least some light or illumination is produced to an OFF state at which no light or illumination is produced. 
     As used herein and in the claims, adjusting an illumination level also includes increasing and/or decreasing a level of light, luminous intensity or illumination produced. Such may include adjusting an output level for any given discrete light source in one or more lighting subsystems  106 . Such may additionally or alternatively include adjusting the state or intensity of a total number of light sources  120  that are in the ON state. For example, a first and second set or strings of light sources  120  may be used to produce a first level of light, luminous output or illumination, while only the first set or string of light sources  120  may be used to produce a second level of light, luminous output or illumination. Also for example, a first number of light sources  120  in a first set or string may be used to produce the first level of light, luminous output or illumination, while a smaller number or subset of light sources  120  in the first set or string may be used to produce the second level of light, luminous output or illumination. 
     The luminaire  200  includes the control subsystem  104  which may be a separate component that can be added post-manufacture, for instance in the form of a retrofit kit, to the luminaire (e.g., by “plugging in” a modular control subsystem  104  to the power subsystem  102  via interfaces  108  as shown in  FIG. 3 ) or may be integral to the luminaire  200  (e.g., a control subsystem  104  that is hardwired to the power subsystem  102  and lighting subsystems  106  as shown in  FIG. 2 ). 
     Notably, the control subsystem  104  includes at least one microcontroller  210 . The control subsystem  104  may also optionally include any number of sensors  112 , for example one or more sensors able to detect motion of an object in the vicinity of the luminaire  200  and one or more photosensitive transducer  312  able to sense the varying levels (e.g., power or intensity) of one or more light conditions in the ambient environment external to the luminaire  200 . Where provided, the photosensitive transducer  112  may be communicably coupled to the microcontroller  210 . In at least some instances, the at least one microcontroller  210  may be used to provide a PWM drive signal  218  to the power converter  202 . The microcontroller  210  can alter, adjust or otherwise control one or more aspects or parameters (e.g., pulse width, frequency, or both) of the PWM drive signal  218  to alter, adjust or control the quantity of power transferred from the power converter  202  to the lighting subsystem  104 . 
     The control subsystem  104  may additionally include one or more real time clock (“RTC”) circuits  214  or one or more time-keeping circuits  216 . Temporal data provided by an RTC circuit  214  or time-keeping circuit  216  may be combined by the microcontroller  210  with data from the sensors  112  to determine one or more additional parameters related to an event external to the luminaire  200 . For example, data indicative of a distance between an object external to the luminaire  200  and the luminaire may be provided by a distance or proximity sensor  112  disposed within the luminaire  200 . By determining the change in distance between an object and the luminaire  200  over a defined time interval, the direction of travel (e.g., towards or away from the luminaire) and the velocity of the object may be determined. In another example, a signal containing data indicative of the distance between an object and another luminaire may be received over a defined time interval via the communications interface  114  in the luminaire  200 . Based on a defined spatial relationship between the two luminaires and the determined direction of travel and velocity of the object, the microcontroller  210  may begin increasing the luminous intensity of the lighting subsystem  106  to achieve a desired luminous output coincident with the determined time of arrival of the object at the luminaire  200 . 
     In other instances, the microcontroller  210  may use temporal data provided by the RTC circuit  214  or the timer circuit  216  to determine via one or more algorithms or via one or more data look-up or retrieval operations the time of occurrence of an expected solar event such as a sunset event or sunrise event. In such instances, the microcontroller  210  may communicate a signal  218  to the power converter  202  that includes data increasing the luminous output of the lighting subsystems  106  from 0% to 100% at a time coordinated with the determined expected time of occurrence of a sunset event. Such a signal  218  may increase either the pulse width or frequency of the PWM drive signal  218  to provide the requested 100% luminous output. The microcontroller  210  may further communicate a subsequent signal  218  to the power converter  202  decreasing the luminous output of the lighting subsystems  106  from 100% to 60% at a specific time (e.g., midnight). Such a subsequent signal  218  may decrease either the pulse width or frequency of the PWM drive signal  218  to provide the requested 60% luminous output. 
     The machine executable code, rules, or logic executed by the microcontroller  210  may include any number of instruction sets, routines or algorithms useful in controlling one or more aspects of the lighting subsystem  106 . For example, in one instance, the machine executable code, rules, or logic executed by the microcontroller  210  may include different routines (e.g., four or more routines) corresponding to a respective number of operating states or modes of the control subsystem  104 . In a first operating state or mode, and in the absence of any other signals, the microcontroller  210  may control the luminous output of the lighting subsystem  106  based on a detected or determined ambient lighting condition external to the luminaire  200  (e.g., a control regime providing a dusk to dawn illumination regime in the area of the luminaire). In a second operating state or mode, the first operating state or mode is interrupted when a signal is received from a neighboring luminaire causing an increase in the luminous intensity of the lighting subsystem (e.g., responsive to movement of a remote object detected by the neighboring luminaire). In a third operating state or mode, the first state or mode or the second state or mode is interrupted when at least one of the sensors  112  provides a signal indicative of an external event in the vicinity of the luminaire  200  (e.g., responsive to movement of a nearby object in the vicinity of the luminaire). In a fourth operating state or mode, the first state or mode, the second state or mode, or the third state or mode is interrupted when at least one of the sensors  112  provides a defined alert signal to the microcontroller  210  (e.g., a signal indicating dangerous lightning in the vicinity of the luminaire). Although four illustrative operating states or modes are described above, a greater or lesser number of states or modes may be readily encoded in machine executable code, rules, or logic by one of ordinary skill in the art. 
     The at least one microcontroller  210  may take any of a variety of forms, for example a microcontroller, programmable gate array (PGA), application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), digital signal processor (DSP), programmable logic controller (PLC) etc. The at least one microcontroller  210  may require very limited computing power, for example an 8-bit microcontroller may be sufficient. The at least one microcontroller  210  may be communicatively coupled to receive signals directly from the sensors  112 . In some instances, the at least one microcontroller  210  can include internal nontransitory storage. Advantageously, the defined machine executable code, rules, or logic executed by the microcontroller  210  provides the control subsystem  104  with the ability to autonomously adjust the luminous output of the luminaire  200  responsive to at least one of: one or more events occurring in the vicinity of the luminaire  200  that are detected by the sensors  112 ; one or more events occurring remote from the luminaire  200  and communicated to the luminaire  200  by neighboring luminaire; one or more operational states of a neighboring luminaire that is communicated to the luminaire  200 ; or any combination thereof. 
     In some instances, a single microcontroller  210  may control one or more aspects of the operation of a plurality of wiredly or wirelessly networked luminaires  200 . In such instances, the luminaires  200  in the network may be addressed and/or controlled individually, addressed and/or controlled as a plurality of sub-networks, or addressed and/or controlled as a single network. In such an arrangement, the single microcontroller  210  may transmit various signals exercising control over operation of the luminaires  200  comprising the network. 
     The control subsystem  104  may optionally include nontransitory storage media  220 . In at least some instances, at least a portion of the nontransitory storage media  220  may wholly or partially comprise removable storage media such as secure digital (SD) or compact flash (CF) cards, universal serial bus (USB) memory sticks, or similar. The non-removable portion of the nontransitory storage media  220  may take any of a variety of forms, for example electrically erasable programmable read only memory (EEPROM), flash memory, solid state memory, memristor memory, atomic memory, or combinations thereof. The nontransitory storage media  220  may have sufficient capacity to store or otherwise retain the machine executable code, rules, or logic used by the microcontroller  210  in altering, adjusting or controlling one or more parameters of the luminaire  200 . In other instances, the nontransitory storage media  220  may further include one or more algorithms to calculate power consumption for the power converter  202  in the power subsystem  102 . For example, one or more algorithms to calculate the power consumption of the power converter  202  based on PWM drive signal pulse width or frequency. In some instances, the nontransitory storage media  220  may store one or more algorithms useful in calculating one or more solar events. For example, the nontransitory storage media may store data indicative of the actual or intended operating geolocation for use by the microcontroller  210  in determining the time of occurrence of an expected solar event such as a sunset event or a sunrise event. 
     In at least some instances, the at least one nontransitory storage media  220  can store or otherwise retain a number of look-up tables or other comparable data structures. In at least some instances such tables may be retained or otherwise stored at least in part on removable, replaceable, or reprogrammable nontransitory storage media. Such look-up tables or data structures may contain power consumption data for the power converter  202  communicably coupled to the control subsystem  104 . Such look-up tables or data structures may include location data or address data for a number of neighboring luminaires  200 . Such look-up tables or data structures may contain astronomical data such as sunrise times and sunset times for the physical or geographic location at which the luminaire  200  is installed or intended for installation. In at least some instances, all or a portion of the determined power consumption, determined astronomical data, or combinations thereof may be broadcast communicated via the communications interface  114  to any number of neighboring luminaires. In at least some instances, all or a portion of the determined power consumption, determined astronomical data, or combinations thereof may be communicated via the communications interface  114  to one or more specific neighboring luminaires via one or more addressed signals. 
     In some instances, the at least one nontransitory storage media  220  can store or otherwise retain a number of look-up tables or other comparable data structures related to astronomical or solar event data. Such astronomical or solar event data may include sunrise and sunset times, dusk and dawn times, solar noon and solar midnight times, and the like. In at least some instances, the at least one nontransitory storage media  220  can store or contain geolocation information specific to the position or location or the intended position or location of the luminaire  200  on the surface of the Earth. Such geolocation data can include at least the latitude or other similar positioning information or coordinates sufficient to identify the location or intended location of the luminaire  200  with respect to a pole or the equator or any similar fixed geographic reference point on the surface of the Earth. In some implementations the geolocation data may include the longitude in addition to the latitude. Longitude data may be useful, for example in identifying a particular time zone (e.g., a time zone location referenced to a reference time or time zone such as coordinated universal time, UTC) in which the luminaire  200  is operating or programmed to operate. In some instances, dates and times corresponding to the conversion from daylight savings time to standard time (and vice-versa) may be stored within the nontransitory storage media  220  to permit the scheduled operation of the luminaire  200  to reflect such legislative time changes. Such geolocation, reference time, time zone, and daylight savings time data may be communicated to and stored in the nontransitory storage media  220 , for example, using a portable handheld electronic device having global positioning capabilities and a communications link (wired or wireless, including RF, microwave or optical such as infrared) to the luminaire  200 . Alternatively, geolocation, reference time, time zone, or daylight savings time information may be stored in a read-only portion of the at least one nontransitory storage media  220 , for example when the luminaire  200  is manufactured, installed, commissioned, programmed or serviced. 
     In some instances, the nontransitory storage media  220  may further store or otherwise retain data representative of one or more other defined thresholds related to one or more sensed events. For example, one or more defined thresholds related to events external to the luminaire  200  such as events occurring in the external environment of the luminaire  200  and detected by the sensors  112 . In some instances, data representative of one or more defined thresholds indicating varying levels of electromagnetic pulse strength, electromagnetic pulse distance, or other electromagnetic characteristics associated with atmospheric electrical activity may be stored in the nontransitory storage media  220 . In other instances, data representative of one or more defined thresholds indicating varying levels of optical signal strength, optical signal distance, or other optical characteristics associated with atmospheric electrical activity may be stored in the nontransitory storage media  220 . In yet other instances, data representative of one or more defined thresholds indicating varying levels of acoustic signal strength, acoustic signal distance, or other acoustic characteristics associated with atmospheric electrical activity may be stored in the nontransitory storage media  220 . 
     In at least some instances, data indicative of one or more alarm, alert or warning thresholds may be stored or otherwise retained in the nontransitory storage media  220 . Such alarm, alert or warning thresholds may indicate an unexpected variance in the operation of the luminaire  200  based on one or more signals provided by the sensors  112 , an unexpected variance in the operation of the luminaire based on a signal from a neighboring luminaire, or the like. 
     The control subsystem  104  may include one or more integrated or discrete real time clock circuits  214 . For example, a real time clock implemented on integrated circuit such as the PCF2129A as manufactured by NXP Semiconductors (Eindhoven, The Netherlands) may be used in some instances. In at least some instances, the real time clock circuit  314  may be persistently powered, for example using one or more batteries, capacitors, ultracapacitors or similar energy storage devices. Other commercially available semiconductor chips providing real time clock functionality may be equally employed. The control subsystem  104  may implement a real time clock based on timing signals produced by the microcontroller  210 , processor clock, or another oscillator. The control subsystem  104  may optionally include a timer circuit  216  (e.g., a digital timing circuit or an analog timer circuit). In at least some instances, the timer circuit  216  may be persistently powered, for example using one or more batteries, capacitors, ultracapacitors or similar energy storage devices. The timer circuit  216  may produce control signals at defined periods following an occurrence of defined times as indicated by the real-time clock circuit  214  of the control subsystem  104 . 
     The control subsystem  104  may include an optional power converter  222  that rectifies, steps down a voltage or otherwise conditions electrical power supplied to the at least one microcontroller  210 , the nontransitory storage media  220  and/or other components of the control subsystem  104 . In one instance, the power converter  222  may include an AC/DC converter used to step a voltage down to a first level suitable for the control electronics of the control subsystem  104 . An example of such an AC/DC converter is a “capacitor dropping” type AC/DC converter including a moderately sized capacitor (e.g., 1 microfarad capacitor) and a rectifier or bridge rectifier including a capacitor and a half- or full-bridge rectifier. 
     Although not shown in  FIG. 2 , the control subsystem  104  can include one or more energy storage devices (e.g., battery cells, button cells, capacitors, super- or ultracapacitors, fuel cell), used to supply power to the components of the control subsystem  104  when needed, for example in the event of loss of power from the grid or other external power source. For example, the one or more energy storage devices may supply power to the real time clock circuit  214  or the timer circuit  216  in instances where electrical power supplied by an electrical distribution grid or network is interrupted. The one or more energy storage devices may also provide sufficient power to maintain the current date, day in the solar cycle, or Julian date and the current time within the real time clock circuit  214  during the luminaire manufacturing, shipping and installation process. In at least some instances, the current time can include a local time (i.e. the time in the time zone in which the luminaire is operating or intended to operate) or a universal time such as coordinated universal time (UTC). Where a universal time is used, one or more correction factors useful in converting the universal time to a local time in which the luminaire is operating or intended to operate may be stored in the nontransitory storage media  220 . 
     In some instances, the current time and current date may be the local time and the local date at the geographic location where the luminaire is installed or is intended for installation. Such local time and local date information may be stored within the nontransitory storage media  220  along with any local time changes (e.g., Daylight Savings time changeover dates and times), leap years, or other events affecting the local time or local date. Such current time/current date or local time/local date information may be periodically or continuously provided to or updated in the luminaire using one or more external electronic devices. For example, the current or local time or date may be periodically updated using an electronic device connected via a wired or wireless network, or a portable electronic device such as a cellular telephone, portable data assistant, tablet computer, or the like. 
     Each luminaire  200  is able to autonomously control the operation of the lighting subsystems  106  using the sensors  112  and based on the machine executable code, rules, or logic executed by the microcontroller  210 . Such control allows each luminaire  200  to autonomously alter, adjust or control the luminous output of the lighting subsystems  106  responsive to one or more expected, sensed or detected external events occurring in the vicinity of the luminaire  200 . Advantageously, where a number of communicably coupled, networked, luminaires  200  are disposed in an area, each of the luminaires  200  is able to communicate one or more signals that include data indicative of one or more events external to the luminaire as well as data indicative of the response (if any) taken by the luminaire  200  to the external event. The communication of signals including such data to some or all of the networked luminaires or a number of the neighboring luminaires provide the ability for the networked or neighboring luminaires to alter, adjust or control the luminous output of their respective lighting subsystems  106  responsive both the received signal and to an expected, sensed or detected external event occurring in the vicinity of the respective luminaire  200 . 
     In at least some instances, each of the communicably coupled, networked, luminaires  200  may be individually addressable to permit directed or targeted (e.g., via a unicast or multicast transmission) rather than broadcast transmission of one or more signals between some but perhaps not all of the luminaires  200  in the network. Such addressing may, for example, be in the form of data including one or more unique identifiers disposed in the microcontroller  210  or the nontransitory storage media  220 . In some instances, the address associated with a particular luminaire  200  can be immutable, permanently stored or “burned” in a nontransitory, non-volatile storage location within the control subsystem  104  (e.g., a write once, read many or “WORM” storage location). In other instances, the address associated with a particular luminaire may be changed or rewritten. Such may provide the ability to use an easily understandable addressing scheme (e.g., addresses such as “floor 2 elevator,” “north entrance,” and “south entrance” are more easily understood than an arbitrary character string assigned by the manufacturer or supplier at the point of manufacture or assembly of the luminaire  200 ). 
     In at least some instances, each of the communicably coupled, networked, luminaires  200  may be placed in a particular physical location. Examples include, but are not limited to, any number of luminaires placed along a roadway, a sidewalk, a parking lot, a parking garage, an industrial facility, or the like. In at least some instances, a particular luminaire  200  may be associated with a particular geographic location. Where a particular luminaire  200  has a unique address, the address itself may also be associated with the physical or geographic location of the luminaire  200 . In some instances, geographic location data may be autonomously stored in the control subsystem  104 , for example using an on-board geolocation system such as a global positioning system (“GPS”) receiver or a cellular triangulation system. In some instances, an external geolocation system, for example a GPS receiver in a portable handheld device may be used to transmit geolocation data to the control subsystem  104  via the communications interface  114 . In yet other instances, the physical or geographic location data may be stored in the control subsystem  104  at the time of manufacture, assembly, shipment, installation or configuration of the luminaire  200 . 
     The physical or geographic location data for some or all of the networked luminaires  200  may be shared among the luminaires  200  such that each luminaire  200  can access data including information indicative of the address and location of at least one neighboring luminaire  200 . In some instances, each luminaire can access data including information indicative of the address and location of at least one “nearest neighbor” luminaire. In other instances, each luminaire  200  can access data including information indicative of the address and location of some or all of the communicably coupled, networked, luminaires  200 . 
     In some instances, the address and location data for a new luminaire joining the network may be autonomously propagated across the network, for example via one or more broadcast signals or via one or more retransmitted targeted signals generated by the new luminaire when the new luminaire joins to the network. In other instances, the address and location for a new luminaire joining the network may be manually propagated across the network, for example via one or more manually generated broadcast signals or via one or more manually generated retransmitted targeted signals (e.g., a unicast or multicast signal) generated by the new luminaire when the new luminaire joins to the network. Such addressing and location data may be individually stored in the control subsystem  104  in each luminaire  200  or may be stored in one or more locations accessible via the network to all of the communicably coupled luminaires. 
     The ability to individually address particular luminaires  200  provides each luminaire  200  in the network with the ability to autonomously adjust one or more operating parameters responsive to the occurrence of an external event in the vicinity of the luminaire as well as responsive to the receipt of a signal transmitted by another luminaire in the network. Such autonomous adjustment capability in each luminaire  200  is provided by the machine executable code, rules, or logic executed by the microcontroller  210 . By providing each luminaire  200  in the network with the ability to act and respond autonomously, a cellular automaton is created. Within the cellular automaton, an operating parameter of each luminaire (e.g., the luminous output) is determined by the luminaire itself (e.g., in response to a signal provided by the sensors  112  and the machine executable code, rules, or logic and the operating state or mode of the control subsystem of the respective luminaire) and by one or more operating parameters of other luminaires within the network. Such an arrangement advantageously permits the ability for the microcontroller  210  to autonomously alter, adjust or control an operating parameter of a first luminaire  200  in the network (e.g., increasing the luminous output of a luminaire positioned at the front door of a commercial building) based on at least one of: signal(s) received from the sensors  112  in the first luminaire  200  (e.g., a signal indicative of motion in the vicinity of the front door), signal(s) received from one or more second luminaires within the network (e.g., a signal indicative of motion sensed by a second luminaire positioned along a driveway leading to the front door), based on a current operating state or mode of the luminaire itself, or any combination thereof. 
     In some instances, the communicably coupled, networked, luminaires  200  may be apportioned into a number of logically grouped cells, each cell containing at least one luminaire  200 . Within a particular cell, each of the constituent luminaires may selectively operated by the control subsystem  104  either autonomously or in conjunction with the operation of one or more other constituent luminaires in the same cell according to one or more defined operating schemes. Luminaires may be grouped within a particular cell using one or more criteria. Example criteria include, but are not limited to, data indicative of the physical location of the luminaire, data indicative of the geographic location of the luminaire, data indicative of the address of the luminaire, or any combination thereof. 
     Such cellular operating schemes may advantageously permit the autonomous alteration, adjustment, or control of one or more operating parameters of all of the luminaires in the cell upon detection of an external event by at least one of: a constituent luminaire in the cell, a non-constituent luminaire external to the cell, or both. For example, a number of luminaires in a stairwell of a multi-level parking garage may be logically grouped into a single cell such that when any one of the luminaires in the cell detects motion (e.g., motion of a person in the stairwell), the luminous output of all of the luminaires in the cell (i.e., all of the luminaires in the stairwell) are increased to brightly illuminate the stairwell. 
     As explained in detail below with reference to  FIGS. 3-5 , the at least one microcontroller  210  can be used to perform multiple functions within each of the communicably coupled, networked, luminaires  200 . For example, machine executable code, rules, or logic can cause the at least one microcontroller  210  can to control the luminous output of the lighting subsystems  106  in a defined manner responsive to sensed local external conditions such as ambient illumination levels, atmospheric events, and the presence or movement of an object in the vicinity of the luminaire  200 . Such machine executable code, rules, or logic can also cause the at least one microcontroller  210  to control the luminous output of the lighting subsystems  106  in a defined manner responsive to remote external conditions such as ambient illumination levels, atmospheric events, and the presence or movement of an object that are sensed by another communicably coupled, networked, neighboring luminaire and communicated either directly to the luminaire  200  or to a luminaire cell of which the luminaire  200  is a member. Such events may or may not be within the local environment, and hence sensible, by the sensors  112  on the luminaire  200 . 
     In at least some instances, the microcontroller  210  can also advantageously monitor the power consumed by the power subsystem  102  to power the lighting subsystem  104 . Thus, the microcontroller  210  is in a unique position to establish, alter, adjust or control a desired luminous output of the lighting subsystem  104  and to monitor the power consumption of the power subsystem  102  to confirm that the power consumption at any given luminous output level falls within a defined range of acceptability. Such also allows the creation of alarms, alerts, or similar notifications communicable to one or more remote monitoring devices or stations via the communications interface  114  when the measured power consumption of the power subsystem  102  deviates from or falls outside a defined range of acceptability based on the luminous output of the lighting subsystems  106 . In operation, the microcontroller  210  provides at least one signal  136  to the converter drive controller  128 . Responsive to the receipt of the signal  136  from the control subsystem  104 , the converter drive controller  128  alters one or more parameters of the PWM drive signal  130  provided to the switching section  118  of the switch-mode power converter  102  to achieve the desired power output and consequently the desired luminous output from the luminaire  300 . 
       FIG. 3  shows a first level parking garage  300  with eleven (11) communicably coupled luminaires  200   a - 200   m  (collectively “luminaires  200 ”) grouped into five (5) luminaire cells  320   a - 320   e  (collectively “luminaire cells  320 ”). The parking lot  302  is divided into parking stalls  304 , an entrance  306 , an exit  308  an elevator  310 , pathway portions  314 ,  316 ,  318 , and a stairway  322 . An automobile  312  is shown entering the parking lot  302  via the entrance  306 . Each of the luminaires  200  is equipped with a control subsystem  104  comprising at least a motion sensor  112 , a communications interface  114  and a microcontroller  210 . Luminaires  200   a - 200   c  are positioned above pathway  314 , luminaires  200   d - 200   f  are positioned above pathway  316 , and luminaires  200   g - 200   j  are positioned above pathway  318 . Luminaire  200   k , the sole member of luminaire cell  320   d , is positioned proximate the elevator  310  and luminaire  200   m , the sole member of luminaire cell  320   e , is positioned proximate the stairway  322 . 
     For clarity and ease of discussion, in the following description of  FIG. 3 , the various components and subsystems in each of the luminaires  200  will be followed by an alphabetic suffix when the component or subsystem is referenced to a single luminaire. For example, the power subsystem, control subsystem, and lighting subsystems of luminaire  200   a  will be referred to as power subsystem  102   a , control subsystem  104   a , and lighting subsystems  106   a . A reference without an alphabetic suffix should be understood to refer to more than one such component or subsystem. 
     Each of the luminaires  200  can include a nontransitory storage media  220  that includes address and location data for some or all of the other luminaires  200 . For example, in some instances the nontransitory storage media  220   a  in luminaire  200   a  may include the address and physical or geographic location data for all other luminaires  200   b - 200   k . In other instances, the nontransitory storage media  220   a  in luminaire  200   a  may include address and physical or geographic location data for a number of defined, selected, luminaires such as the nearest neighbor luminaire  200   b  and the elevator luminaire  200   k . Such address and physical or geographic location data may be manually stored in the nontransitory storage  220   a  during manufacture, assembly, installation or configuration or may be autonomously acquired by and stored in the control subsystem  104  in luminaire  200   a  subsequent to installation. In parking lot  300 , the luminaires  200  have been grouped into three luminaire cells  320   a ,  320   b ,  320   c  corresponding respectively to each of the three pathways  314 ,  316 ,  318  in the parking garage. A fourth cell  320   d  includes only luminaire  200   k.    
     Prior to entry of the automobile  312  into the parking garage  300 , the luminaires  200  may be in an energy saving mode where the luminous output of each is at some level less than 100% of their rated or nominal output, for example each of the luminaires  200  may be at a luminous output of 50% of their rated or nominal output. As the automobile  312  proceeds into the parking garage  300  the motion sensor  112  in luminaire  200   a  detects the motion of the automobile towards the luminaire  200   a . In response to detecting the motion of the automobile  200   a , the control subsystem  104   a  can increase the luminous output of the lighting subsystem  106   a  from 50% to 100%. Coincidental with the increase in luminous output, the control subsystem  104   a  can generate one or more signal outputs to some or all of the luminaires  200   b - 200   k . In some instances, such a signal output may include a broadcast signal to all of the remaining luminaires  200   b - 200   k . In other instances, such a signal output may include a targeted signal (i.e., a unicast or multicast signal) to one or more neighboring luminaires, for example luminaire  200   b  as the “nearest neighbor” or luminaires  200   b  and  200   c  as constituents of the same luminaire cell. Other luminaires may also receive the targeted signal. The signal output  330   a  can include data indicative detection of a moving object, as well as, of one or more of: the direction of motion of the object, the velocity of the object, other external event parameters, the luminous output of the lighting subsystems  102   a , other luminaire  200   a  operating parameters, or combinations thereof. Upon receipt by one or more remaining luminaires  200   b - 200   k , the machine executable code, rules, or logic in each of the remaining luminaires  200   b - 200   k  may or may not cause the control subsystem  104   b - 104   k  to adjust the luminous output of the respective lighting subsystems  106   b - 106   k.    
     For example, responsive to the detection of the direction of motion of the automobile  312  as sensed by the sensors  112   a  and communicated via the output signal  330   a , the luminous output of other luminaires  200   b ,  200   c  in luminaire cell  320   a  may increase to better illuminate the driveway  314  where the automobile  312  will travel. Responsive to the detection of the velocity of the automobile as sensed by the sensors  112   a  and communicated via the output signal  330   a , the rate of increase in the luminous output of the other luminaires  200   b ,  200   c  in luminaire cell  320   a  may be adjusted to better illuminate the driveway  314  before the automobile  312  arrives at the location of luminaires  200   b ,  200   c . In some instances, the luminous output of luminaire  200   a  may be related to the detected velocity of the automobile  312  (e.g., a higher sensed automobile velocity may cause a higher luminous output from lighting subsystems  106   a ). In such instances, rather than transmit an output signal  330   a  including data indicative of the velocity of the automobile  312 , the control subsystem  104   a  may instead transmit an output signal  330   a  including data indicative of the luminous output of the lighting subsystems  106   a  such that the lighting subsystems  106   b ,  106   c  can assume a similar luminous output level. Importantly, the recipient luminaires  200   b - 200   k  have no direct indication of the presence, motion, direction of motion, or velocity of the automobile  312 , yet each may change their respective luminous output based on data contained in the output signal  330   a  provided by luminaire  200   a  which does have a direct indication of the motion of the automobile  312 . 
     In another example, prior to detecting any motion within the garage  300 , the luminaires  200  may be in an energy saving mode where the luminous output of each is at some level less than 100% of their rated or nominal output, for example each of the luminaires  200  may be at a luminous output of 50% of their rated or nominal output. Upon detection by the motion sensor  112   a  of motion having one or more characteristics (e.g., speed, infrared profile, size, etc.) corresponding to pedestrian foot traffic proximate the luminaire  200   a , the control subsystem  104   a  can increase the luminous output of luminaire  200   a  from 50% to 100% of rated or nominal output. Coincidental with the increase in luminous output, the control subsystem  104   a  can generate one or more signal outputs to some or all of the luminaires  200   b - 200   k . Responsive to the receipt of the signal from luminaire  200   a  indicative of pedestrian traffic within the garage  300 , all of the luminaires  200   b - 200   k  may increase their respective luminous output to 75% of rated or nominal output to provide a uniform level of illumination throughout the garage  300 . Such a uniform level of illumination may be desirable since pedestrians may not be limited to travel along pathways  314 ,  316 , and  318  (e.g., pedestrians can “short cut” between cars). As other luminaires  200   b - 200   k  within the garage  300  detect proximate pedestrian traffic (or motion associated therewith), their respective luminous output may be increased from 75% to 100% of rated or nominal output. Thus, in at least some instances, different machine executable code, rules, or logic may be autonomously executed the controllers  104  in each of the in each of the remaining luminaires  200   b - 200   k  dependent on the detection of either vehicular or pedestrian traffic within the garage  300  by any one of the luminaires  200   a - 200   k.    
     An example machine executable code, rules, or logic used by the microcontrollers  210  in each of the luminaires  200   a - 200   j  may include the following:
     1. Where the ambient light level as sensed by a photosensitive transducer  112   b  is less than a defined threshold (e.g., 10 foot-candles) and motion sensor  112   a  detects motion, increase the luminous output of the lighting subsystems  106  (e.g., increase luminous output of the lighting subsystems in the luminaire sensing the motion from 40% to 100% of rated output).   2. If sensed ambient light levels are greater than 10 foot-candles do not activate the luminaire responsive to motion (luminaire may still be illuminated for other critical purposes, for example to alert of nearby atmospheric electrical activity).   3. If an output signal including data indicative of detected motion is received from a remote luminaire, increase the luminous output of the lighting subsystems  106  (e.g., increase luminous output of the lighting subsystems in the recipient luminaire from 40% to 70% of rated output).   4. If an output signal including data indicative of detected motion is received from a nearest neighbor luminaire, increase the luminous output of the lighting subsystems  106  (e.g., increase luminous output of the lighting subsystems in the recipient luminaire  200  from 40% to 100% of rated output).   5. If motion is detected using motion sensor  112   a , transmit an output signal including data indicative of the sensed motion via the communications interface  114  and begin measuring elapsed time using an RTC circuit  214  or a timer circuit  216 .   6. If luminous output is above a defined threshold (e.g., 40%), no motion is detected by the motion sensor  112   a , no output signals indicative of motion are received from a remote luminaire or a nearest neighbor luminaire, and the elapsed time exceeds a defined threshold (e.g., 30, 45, 60 seconds, etc.) then reduce luminous output of the lighting subsystems  106  (e.g., reduce luminous output of the lighting subsystems  106  to the defined threshold or less).   7. If luminous output is above a defined threshold (e.g., 40% of rated output), no motion is detected by the motion sensor  112   a , no output signals indicative of motion are received from a remote luminaire or a nearest neighbor luminaire, the elapsed time exceeds a defined threshold (e.g., 30, 45, 60 seconds, etc.), and the time of day as measured by an RTC circuit  214  is within a defined range (e.g., 18:00 and 07:00) then reduce luminous output of the lighting subsystems  106  (e.g., reduce luminous output of the lighting subsystems  106  to 0% of rated output).   8. If the time of day as measured by an RTC circuit  214  is within a defined range (e.g., 07:00 and 18:00) and the ambient light level as sensed by a photosensitive transducer  112   b  is less than a defined threshold (e.g., 10 foot-candles), increase the luminous output of the lighting subsystems  106  to an intermediate level (e.g., increase luminous output of the lighting subsystems  106  in the luminaire to 60% of rated output).   

     Although the machine executable code, rules, or logic are described above in a limited manner for clarity and conciseness, one can appreciate the advantages and flexibility afforded by the microcontroller  210 . For example, machine executable code, rules, or logic for specialized situations (e.g., weekends, holidays, special events, etc.) can be developed and stored within the control subsystem  104  for execution on the microcontroller  210 . 
     The machine executable code, rules, or logic executed by the control subsystem  104  may be the same or different for each of the luminaires  200 . For example, detection of motion by luminaire  200   a  may cause an increase in luminous output of luminaires  200   b  and  200   c , while detection of motion of an automobile  312  or an individual (not shown) by luminaire  200   c  may cause an increase in luminous output of luminaires  200   d - 200   f . For safety, the machine executable code, rules, or logic in the stairway luminaire  200   m  may cause the microcontroller  210  to maintain the lighting subsystems  106  in the stairway luminaire  200   m  at a 100% of rated or nominal luminous output level at all times. All or a portion of the machine executable code, rules, or logic may be common to or shared by some or all of the luminaires  200 . For example, sensed motion of an automobile  312  or an individual (not shown) transiting the parking garage  300  by any of the luminaires  200  within the garage may result in an increase of the luminous output of the elevator luminaire  200   k  such that the area in the vicinity of the elevator  310  is brightly illuminated for safe pedestrian ingress and egress. 
     An example machine executable code, rules, or logic used to control the operation of the elevator luminaire  200   k  may include the following:
     1. If any luminaire  200  or luminaire cell  320  on the same floor of the parking garage  300  is active, then increase the luminous output of the lighting subsystems  106  in luminaire  200   k.      2. If no luminaire  200  or luminaire cell  320  on the same floor of the parking garage  300  is active and motion of the elevator door has been detected by the motion sensor in luminaire  200   k , then reduce the luminous output of the lighting subsystem  106  in luminaire  200   k.      3. If no luminaire  200  or luminaire cell  320  on the same floor of the parking garage is active and motion of the elevator door has not been detected by the motion sensor in luminaire  200   k , then maintain the luminous output of the lighting subsystems  106  in luminaire  200   k  at the increased level.   4. If time of day is within a defined range and no luminaire  200  or luminaire cell  320  on the same floor of the parking garage  300  is active, then decrease the luminous output of the lighting subsystems  106  in luminaire  200   k.      

       FIG. 4  shows a multi-level parking garage  400  with two (2) communicably coupled luminaires  200   a - 200   b  (collectively “luminaires  200 ”). An automobile  312  is shown entering the parking garage  400 . Each of the luminaires  200  is equipped with a control subsystem  104  comprising at least a motion sensor  112   a , a photosensitive transducer  112   b , a communications interface  114  and a microcontroller  210 . Luminaires  200   a ,  200   b  are positioned near the entrance where automobiles  312  enter the parking garage  400 . Luminaire  200   a  is positioned closer to the entrance of the parking garage  400 . The sun  404  illuminates a portion  406  of the entrance of the parking garage  400 , and casting a shadow  408  in the remaining portion of the parking garage  400 . 
     For at least a portion of the day, the photosensitive transducer  112   b  in luminaire  200   a  falls within the brightly illuminated portion  406  of the parking garage  400 . In such instances, due to the high level of ambient light, the luminous output of luminaire  200   a  may be adjusted downward to 20-30% of rated or nominal output, or may even be adjusted to 0% of rated or nominal output to conserve energy. On the other hand, the photosensitive transducer  112   b  in luminaire  200   b  falls within a portion of the parking garage  400  that is shaded from the sun  404 . In such instances, due to the relatively lower level of ambient light in the shaded portion  408  of the parking garage  400 , the luminous output of luminaire  200   b  may be greater than the luminous output of luminaire  200   a  commensurate with the degree of illumination in the parking garage  400 . 
     In some instances, energy conservation measures or economic considerations may favor an overall reduction in the power consumed by area lighting such as that provided by luminaires  200   a  and  200   b  during periods of high ambient illumination such as when the sun  404  is shining. In such instances, the communicable coupling between the luminaires  200   a  and  200   b  may be used to reduce the luminous output of luminaire  200   b  when the photosensitive transducer  112   a  in luminaire  200   a  detects a high level of ambient illumination that is indicative of daylight outside of the parking garage  400 . For example, upon sensing an ambient lighting condition indicative of daylight, the control subsystem  104  in luminaire  200   a  can reduce the luminous output of the light subsystems  106  to an energy conserving level and can also generate an output signal  330   a  that includes data indicative of the luminous output of the lighting subsystems  106 . Upon receipt of the output signal  330   a , machine executable code, rules, or logic can cause the control subsystem  104  in luminaire  200   b  to reduce the luminous output of the lighting subsystems  106  based solely upon the data contained in the output signal provided by luminaire  200   a  and even though luminaire  200   b  remains in a relatively low ambient light location within the parking garage  400 . Importantly, in the absence of the machine executable code, rules, or logic and the output signal received from luminaire  200   a , no such reduction in luminous output of luminaire  200   b  (and consequent energy savings attendant thereto) would occur. 
     In some instances, the machine executable code, rules, or logic may cause the microcontroller  210  in each of the luminaires  200   a - 200   b  to maintain luminaires  200   a - 200   b  can maintain a constant level of illumination level throughout each level of the parking garage  400 . Such may be required to comply with local, state, federal or municipal codes, rules or regulations that specify minimum desired illumination levels for parking garages (e.g., a minimum of 2 foot-candles horizontal and 1 foot-candle vertical during daylight hours and a minimum of 1 foot-candle horizontal and 0.5 foot-candles vertical during evening hours). Operating the lighting subsystems  106  in luminaire  200   b  at maximum luminous output (e.g., 100%) during daylight hours, photosensitive transducer  112   b  on luminaire  200   b  may provide an output signal including data indicative of a sensed illumination level of 2.2 foot-candles horizontal and 1.1 foot-candles vertical. Upon receipt of the output signal including the sensed illumination levels provided by luminaire  200   b , the machine executable code, rules, or logic may cause microcontroller  210  to reduce the luminous output of the lighting subsystems  106  in luminaire  200   a  to operate at a reduced luminous output (e.g., 60%) to match the luminous output of luminaire  200   b . Such reduced luminous output can conserve energy by reducing the power consumption of luminaire  200   a  by taking advantage of the contribution of the ambient light provided by the sunlight  406  that is sensed by the photosensitive transducer  112   b  in luminaire  200   a.    
     Advantageously, the communicably coupled, networked, luminaires  200  provide a system having tremendous built-in redundancy. For example, a failure of a photosensitive transducer  112   b  on any one luminaire  200  in a parking garage luminaire network may result in the luminaire  200  operating unpredictably or in an undesirable manner (e.g., remaining at 0% or 100% of rated or nominal output). By communicably coupling all of the luminaires  200  in the parking garage, based on address and physical location data, the luminaire with the failed photosensitive transducer  112   b  can select a similarly positioned neighboring luminaire  200  (e.g., a luminaire  200  at the same location on a different level of the parking garage). After selecting an appropriate neighboring luminaire  200 , the luminaire with the failed photosensitive transducer  112   b  can mirror the luminous output of the selected neighboring luminaire  200 . 
     Although only a small portion of a much larger parking garage  400  and two luminaires  200  are shown in  FIG. 4 , tens, hundreds, or even thousands of luminaires  200  may be disposed in a parking garage having two to twenty levels. Such structures are exemplified by the massive parking structures commonly found at large international airports and national or regional hub airports. Communicably coupling and networking all or a portion of the multitude of luminaires  200  present in such an environment can provide operational advantages, for example by autonomously increasing the luminous output of neighboring luminaires  200  to assist in covering a darkened area caused by a failed luminaire  200 . Such may also advantageously provide economic advantages, for example by altering the luminous output of the lighting subsystems  106  in luminaires  200  with failed photosensitive transducers  112  responsive to the receipt of output signals from luminaires having operating photosensitive transducers  112 . Such operational adjustments are made autonomously and selectively by the luminaires  200  forming the network based on the machine executable code, rules, or logic provided in the control subsystem  104  of each luminaire  200 . 
       FIG. 5  shows an illustrative illumination system  500  used to provide area illumination of a generally east-west roadway  502  on which vehicles  504  travel and a generally east-west sidewalk  510  on which pedestrians travel  512 . A vehicle  504  is shown traveling in a westward direction at a velocity of 80 kilometers per hour (km/hr). A pedestrian  512  is shown traveling in an eastward direction at a velocity of 5 km/hr. Luminaires  200   a - 200   c  line the north side of the roadway  502  while luminaires  200   d - 200   f  (luminaires  200   a - 200   f  hereinafter collectively “luminaires  200 ”) line the south side of the roadway  502 . One or more motion sensors  112   a  and one or more photosensitive transducers  112   b  may be included in the control subsystem  104  of each of the respective luminaires  200 . The roadway  502  can be a heavily used primary thoroughfare or an occasionally used country road. In at least some instances, the luminaires  200  can be individually addressed and the associated physical or geographic location of each of the luminaires  200  can be stored or otherwise retained in the control subsystem  104  in each of the respective luminaires  200 . 
     In at least some instances, the luminous output of the luminaires  200  along the roadway  502  may be altered, adjusted or controlled by the microcontroller  210  responsive to the time of occurrence of an expected solar event, for example a sunset event or a sunrise event. Such times of occurrence of expected solar events may be calculated by the control subsystem  104 , for example using geolocation and local date information in the sunrise equation, or using data look-up or retrieval based on geolocation and local date information. In other instances, the photosensitive transducer  112   b  can be use to sense the occurrence of ambient lighting conditions indicative of a sunset or sunrise events. The luminous output of luminaires  200  lining a primary thoroughfare experiencing sustained, 24 hour per day, traffic may be maintained at a defined level (e.g., 90% to 100% of rated or nominal output) between the sunset event and the sunrise event. The luminous output of luminaires  200  lining an occasionally used roadway may be maintained at a lower level of illumination (e.g., 40% to 60% of rated or nominal output) until motion in the form of vehicular  504  or pedestrian  512  traffic is detected by the motion sensor  112   a.    
     The luminous output of the lighting subsystems  106  in each of the luminaires  200   a - 200   c  along the westbound roadway  502  can be altered, adjusted or controlled responsive to one or more parameters indicative of the motion of the vehicle  504 . Upon detection of the direction of motion and optionally the velocity of the moving vehicle  504  by a first luminaire (e.g., luminaire  200   c ), the first luminaire  200   c  can generate a broadcast or targeted output signal including data indicative of the sensed motion of the vehicle  504 , the sensed direction of motion of the vehicle  504 , the sensed velocity of the vehicle  504  and the luminous output of the lighting subsystems  106  in luminaire  200   c . Since the luminaires  200   a - 200   c  are communicably coupled and are physically or geographically mapped, luminaires  200   a  and  200   b  can determine that the motion of the vehicle  504  will result in the vehicle passing proximate each of a number of the luminaires. 
     If the velocity of the vehicle  504  is included in the output signal generated by luminaire  200   c , luminaires  200   a  and  200   b  can determine either a differential (e.g., in 24 seconds based on a timing circuit) or absolute time (e.g., at 20:04:25 based on an RTC circuit) at which the vehicle  504  will arrive. Luminaires  200   a  and  200   b  are thus able to respond proactively to the motion of the vehicle  504  detected by luminaire  200   c . For example, luminaires  200   a  and  200   b  can increase the luminous output of their respective lighting subsystems  106  before their respective motion sensors  112   a  detect the motion of the vehicle  504 . In at least some instances, the number of luminaires  200  having an increased luminous output along the forward path of the vehicle  504  may be adjusted based at least in part on the velocity of the vehicle  504 . For example, responsive to the receipt of an output signal including data indicative of a vehicle  504  traveling at a velocity of 80 km/hr the luminous output of five upcoming luminaires  200  may be increased, while responsive to the receipt of an output signal including data indicative of a vehicle  504  traveling at a velocity of 40 km/hr, the luminous output of three upcoming luminaires  200  may be increased. The luminous intensity of the lighting subsystems  106  may be decreased when the vehicle  504  is no longer proximate the respective luminaire  200   a - 200   c.    
     In some instances, the rate of increase or decrease in luminous output of all or a portion of the luminaires  200   a - 200   c  may be altered, adjusted, or controlled responsive to one or more parameters indicative of motion of the vehicle  504 . For example, the luminous output of the luminaires  200  in the forward path of a vehicle  504  moving at a high rate of speed may be rapidly increased to provide the greatest possible sight distance to the occupants of the vehicle  504 . Similarly, the luminous output of the luminaires  200  in the rearward path of the vehicle  504  moving at a high rate of speed may be rapidly decreased since little need exists to maintain an increased illumination level to the rear of the vehicle  504 . 
     The luminous output of the lighting subsystems  106  in each of the luminaires  200   d - 200   f  along the eastbound roadway  502  can be altered, adjusted or controlled responsive to one or more parameters indicative of the motion of the pedestrian  512 . Upon detection of the direction of motion and optionally the velocity of the pedestrian  512  by a first luminaire (e.g., luminaire  200   d ), the first luminaire can generate a broadcast or targeted output signal including data indicative of the sensed motion of the pedestrian  512 , the sensed direction of motion of the pedestrian  512 , the sensed velocity of the pedestrian  512  and the luminous output of the lighting subsystems  106  in the first luminaire. Since the luminaires  200   d - 200   f  are communicably coupled and are physically or geographically mapped, luminaires  200   e  and  200   f  can determine that the motion of the pedestrian  512  will result in the pedestrian passing along a path proximate each of the luminaires. If the velocity of the pedestrian  512  is included in the output signal generated by luminaire  200   d , luminaires  200   e  and  200   f  can determine either a differential (e.g., in 24 seconds based on a timing circuit) or absolute time (e.g., at 20:04:25 based on an RTC circuit) at which the pedestrian  512  will arrive. Luminaires  200   e  and  200   f  are thus able to respond proactively to the motion of the pedestrian  512  detected by luminaire  200   d . For example, luminaires  200   e  and  200   f  can increase the luminous output of their respective lighting subsystems  106  before their respective motion sensors  112   a  detect the motion of the pedestrian  512 . The luminous intensity of the lighting subsystems  106  may be decreased when the pedestrian  512  is no longer proximate the respective luminaire  200   d - 200   f.    
     In some instances, the rate of increase or decrease in luminous output of the luminaires  200   d - 200   f  can be altered, adjusted, or controlled based on one or more parameters indicative of motion of the pedestrian  512 . For example, the luminaires  200   d - 200   f  may be able to discern between pedestrian and vehicular traffic based on one or more parameters (e.g., size of object, velocity of object, location of object, etc.). Upon detecting a slow moving object having one or more characteristics of pedestrian traffic, the machine executable code, rules, or logic may cause the microcontrollers  210  in each of the luminaires  200   d - 200   f  to increase the luminous output of the lighting subsystems  106  in the luminaires  200   e - 200   f  in the path of the pedestrian at a defined time before the expected passage of the pedestrian proximate the luminaire  200   e - 200   f . Such may improve the sense of security and well-being felt by the pedestrian  512  as the upcoming sidewalk  510  will be brightly illuminated prior to their arrival. Similarly, the decrease in luminous output of the luminaires  200  behind the pedestrian  512  may be delayed based on the relatively low velocity of the pedestrian  512  to maintain an increased illumination level to the rear of the pedestrian  512  thereby increasing the pedestrian&#39;s sense of safety and well-being. 
     In some instances, the machine executable code, rules, or logic may permit the microcontroller  210  to increase the luminous output of the lighting subsystems  106  to 100% of rated or nominal output in all or a number of the luminaires  200  along the roadway  502  upon receipt of one or more override or emergency signals. Such override or emergency signals may be wiredly or wirelessly transmitted to one or more luminaires  200  and transmitted to some or all of the communicably coupled luminaires  200 . Such may be useful in assisting first responders and other emergency personnel responding to accidents or other events that have occurred on or proximate the roadway  502 . 
       FIG. 6  shows an illustrative method  600  of controlling one or more networked luminaires  200 , according to at least one illustrated embodiment. Upon detection of a local motion event by a luminaire  200  or upon receipt of a signal including data indicative of a motion event sensed by a neighbor luminaire or a remote luminaire by the luminaire  200 , the control subsystem  104  in the luminaire  200  can increase the luminous output of the lighting subsystems  106 . The luminaire  200  can also generate an output signal that includes data indicative of at least one of the motion event or one or more operating parameters of the luminaire  200  for transmission to one or more communicably coupled luminaires. After the motion event is no longer detected by the luminaire  200 , a neighboring luminaire or a remote luminaire, the luminaire  200  can initiate a timer. If the timer expires without a motion event detected by the luminaire  200 , the neighboring luminaire, or a remote luminaire, the control subsystem  104  in the luminaire  200  can reduce the luminous intensity of the lighting subsystems  106 . Such a system can advantageously be used in applications where luminaires are used to provide illumination to promote the safe movement of objects within a defined area, for example movement of vehicles or pedestrians along a roadway, in a parking lot, or in a parking garage. The method commences at  602 . 
     At  604 , the microcontroller  210  determines if a local motion event has occurred in the vicinity of the luminaire  200 . Such determination may be based on receipt of a signal from one or more sensors  112 , for example a Doppler motion sensor, disposed in the control subsystem  104  of the luminaire  200 . The local motion event may include at least one of: a change in distance between the luminaire  200  and an external object in the vicinity of the luminaire  200 , a direction of motion of an external object in the vicinity of the luminaire  200 , or a velocity of an external object in the vicinity of the luminaire  200 . In at least some instances, one or more threshold values may be applied to categorize or classify the movement sensed by the at least one sensor  112 . For example, machine executable code, rules, or logic used by the microcontroller  210  to discern motion of an external object in the vicinity of the luminaire may result in signals indicative of the motion of an object less than a defined mass threshold or smaller than a defined size threshold not being considered indicative of motion of an external object in the vicinity of the luminaire  200 . Such filtering can advantageously reduce the occurrence of “false alarms” and resultant erroneous or inconsistent operation of the luminaire  200 . 
     At  606 , responsive to sensing the motion of an external object in the vicinity of the luminaire  200 , the machine executable code, rules, or logic can cause the microcontroller  210  to increase the luminous output of the lighting subsystems  106  in luminaire  200  to a first level. The first level can include any level of luminous output from 1% to 100% of rated or nominal output. Adjusting the luminous output of the lighting subsystems  106  may, in some instances, take the form of increasing the duty cycle of a pulse width modulated (“PWM”) drive signal (i.e., increasing the frequency, pulse width, or both) provided to the power converter  202  such that the power delivered to the lighting subsystems  106  is increased to the first level. 
     At  608 , responsive to adjusting or altering the luminous output of the lighting subsystems  106 , the machine executable code, rules, or logic can cause the microcontroller  210  to generate at least one output signal including data indicative of at least one of: one or more parameters related to the sensed motion event that occurred in the vicinity of the luminaire  200  or one or more operational parameters of the luminaire  200  (e.g., PWM drive signal parameters, luminous output parameters, power consumption parameters, etc.). The output signal so generated may be transmitted via the communications interface  114  as a targeted or broadcast output signal directed to some or all of the remaining luminaires in a communicably coupled network of luminaires. In some instances, the output signal may be targeted to only those luminaires previously addressed and identified as “neighboring luminaires.” In other instances, the output signal so generated and transmitted may be targeted or broadcast to some or all of the remaining, remote, luminaires in the network. 
     At  610 , the microcontroller  210  determines if an output signal including data indicative of motion of an object in the vicinity of a neighboring luminaire has been received from the neighboring luminaire at the communications interface  114 . The output signal received from the neighboring luminaire can include at least one of the following: a change in distance between the neighboring luminaire and an external object in the vicinity of the neighboring luminaire, a direction of motion of an external object in the vicinity of the neighboring luminaire, or a velocity of an external object in the vicinity of the neighboring luminaire. 
     At  612 , responsive to the receipt of the output signal including data indicative of motion of an object in the vicinity of the neighboring luminaire, the machine executable code, rules, or logic can cause the microcontroller  210  to increase the luminous output of the lighting subsystems  106  in luminaire  200  to a second level. The second level can include any level of luminous output from 1% to 100% of rated or nominal output. In some instances, the first level and second level may cause the same or substantially similar levels of luminous output from the lighting subsystems  106 . Adjusting the luminous output of the lighting subsystems  106  may, in some instances, take the form of increasing the duty cycle of a pulse width modulated (“PWM”) drive signal (i.e., increasing the frequency, pulse width, or both) provided to the power converter  202  such that the power delivered to the lighting subsystems  106  is increased to the second level. 
     At  614 , the microcontroller  210  determines if an output signal including data indicative of motion of an object in the vicinity of a remote luminaire in the network has been received from the remote luminaire at the communications interface  114 . The output signal received from the remote luminaire can include at least one of the following: a change in distance between the remote luminaire and an external object in the vicinity of the remote luminaire, a direction of motion of an external object in the vicinity of the remote luminaire, or a velocity of an external object in the vicinity of the remote luminaire. 
     At  616 , responsive to the receipt of the output signal including data indicative of motion of an object in the vicinity of the remote luminaire, the machine executable code, rules, or logic can cause the microcontroller  210  to increase the luminous output of the lighting subsystems  106  in luminaire  200  to a third level. The third level can include any level of luminous output from 1% to 100% of rated or nominal output. In some instances, the first level, second level, and third level may cause the same or substantially similar levels of luminous output from the lighting subsystems  106 . Adjusting the luminous output of the lighting subsystems  106  may, in some instances, take the form of increasing the duty cycle of a pulse width modulated (“PWM”) drive signal (i.e., increasing the frequency, pulse width, or both) provided to the power converter  202  such that the power delivered to the lighting subsystems  106  is increased to the third level. 
     At  618 , the microcontroller  210  determines whether any or all of the lighting subsystems  106  are illuminated. In some instances, the microcontroller  210  can determine whether the lighting subsystems  106  are illuminated based on the power consumption of the power converter  202 . In some instances, the microcontroller  210  can determine whether the lighting subsystems  106  are illuminated based on a signal provided by a photosensitive transducer  112   b  in the control subsystem  104 . In yet other instances, the microcontroller  210  can determined whether the lighting subsystems  106  are illuminated based on the duty cycle of the PWM drive signal provided to the power converter  202 . If the lighting subsystems  106  have not been not illuminated the microcontroller  210  continues to scan for a local motion event in the vicinity of the luminaire  200 , an output signal including data indicative of motion of an object in the vicinity of a neighboring luminaire, or an output signal including data indicative of motion of an object in the vicinity of a remote luminaire in the network. 
     If the lighting subsystems have previously been illuminated responsive to a local motion event in the vicinity of the luminaire  200 , an output signal including data indicative of motion of an object in the vicinity of a neighboring luminaire, or an output signal including data indicative of motion of an object in the vicinity of a remote luminaire in the network, at  620  the microcontroller  210  determines whether a timer is active. In at least some instances, the machine executable code, rules, or logic maintain the luminous output of the lighting subsystems  106  at an elevated level after the local motion event in the vicinity of the luminaire  200 , output signal including data indicative of motion of an object in the vicinity of a neighboring luminaire, or output signal including data indicative of motion of an object in the vicinity of a remote luminaire in the network indicate the object is no longer detected. Such an elevated illumination level may be maintained for a defined period of time. The timer may be used to determine whether the lighting subsystem has remained illuminated for at least the defined period of time after the local motion event in the vicinity of the luminaire  200 , output signal including data indicative of motion of an object in the vicinity of a neighboring luminaire, or output signal including data indicative of motion of an object in the vicinity of a remote luminaire in the network indicate the object is no longer detected. 
     At  622 , responsive to determining that a timer has not been activated at  620 , the microcontroller  210  can start a timer. The timer can include a real time clock circuit  214  or a timer circuit  216 . After starting the timer the microcontroller  210  continues to scan for a local motion event in the vicinity of the luminaire  200 , an output signal including data indicative of motion of an object in the vicinity of a neighboring luminaire, or an output signal including data indicative of motion of an object in the vicinity of a remote luminaire in the network. 
     At  624 , responsive to determining that a time has been activated, the machine executable code, rules, or logic cause the microcontroller  210  to determine whether an elapsed time measured by the timer has exceeded a defined timer threshold. In at least some instances, the defined timer threshold can be a single value, after which the microcontroller reduces the luminous output of the lighting subsystems  106 . In other instances, the defined time threshold may include multiple values or a determined value to reduce the luminous output of the lighting subsystems  106  after a defined time that is based on one or more external factors. Such external factors may include the direction of motion of the external object, the velocity of the object, the size of the object, or any other measurable quantity or parameter associated with the object. If the microcontroller  210  determines that the timer has not yet exceeded the defined timer threshold, the microcontroller  210  continues to scan for a local motion event in the vicinity of the luminaire  200 , an output signal including data indicative of motion of an object in the vicinity of a neighboring luminaire, or an output signal including data indicative of motion of an object in the vicinity of a remote luminaire in the network. 
     At  626 , responsive to determining that the timer has exceeded the defined timer threshold, the machine executable code, rules, or logic can cause the microcontroller  210  to decrease the luminous output of the lighting subsystems  106 . Additionally, at  628 , the machine executable code, rules, or logic can further cause the microcontroller  210  to generate at least one output signal including data indicative of at least one of: one or more parameters related to the reduction in luminous intensity of the lighting subsystems  106 . The output signal so generated may be transmitted via the communications interface  114  as a targeted or broadcast output signal directed to some or all of the remaining luminaires in a communicably coupled network of luminaires. In some instances, the output signal may be targeted to only those luminaires previously addressed and identified as “neighboring luminaires.” In other instances, the output signal so generated and transmitted may be targeted or broadcast to some or all of the remaining, remote, luminaires in the network. After generating the output signal at  628 , the microcontroller  210  continues to scan for a local motion event in the vicinity of the luminaire  200 , an output signal including data indicative of motion of an object in the vicinity of a neighboring luminaire, or an output signal including data indicative of motion of an object in the vicinity of a remote luminaire in the network. 
     Also for example, the various methods may include additional acts, omit some acts, and may perform the acts in a different order than set out in the various flow diagrams. The use of ordinals such as first, second and third, do not necessarily imply a ranked sense of order, but rather may only distinguish between multiple instances of an act or structure. 
     Also for example, the foregoing detailed description has set forth various embodiments of the devices and/or processes via the use of block diagrams, schematics, and examples. Insofar as such block diagrams, schematics, and examples contain one or more functions and/or operations, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that each function and/or operation within such block diagrams, flowcharts, or examples can be implemented, individually and/or collectively, by a wide range of hardware, software, firmware, or virtually any combination thereof. In one embodiment, the present subject matter may be implemented via one or more microcontrollers. However, those skilled in the art will recognize that the embodiments disclosed herein, in whole or in part, can be equivalently implemented in standard integrated circuits (e.g., Application Specific Integrated Circuits or ASICs), as one or more computer programs executed by one or more computers (e.g., as one or more programs running on one or more computer systems), as one or more programs executed by one or more controllers (e.g., microcontrollers), as one or more programs executed by one or more processors (e.g., microcontrollers), as firmware, or as virtually any combination thereof, and that designing the circuitry and/or writing the code for the software and/or firmware would be well within the skill of one of ordinary skill in the art in light of the teachings of this disclosure. For example, the control subsystem may include an analog electronic delay circuit such as a capacitor based timer circuit with defined delay times, to implement one or more of the specific adjustment times (e.g., times as indicated by the clock when light sources will be turned ON, decreased output, increased output, turned OFF). 
     When logic is implemented as software and stored in memory, logic or information can be stored on any computer-readable medium for use by or in connection with any processor-related system or method. In the context of this disclosure, a memory is a computer-readable storage medium that is an electronic, magnetic, optical, or other physical device or means that non-transitorily contains or stores a computer and/or processor program. Logic and/or information can be embodied in any computer-readable medium for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device, such as a computer-based system, processor-containing system, or other system that can fetch the instructions from the instruction execution system, apparatus, or device and execute the instructions associated with logic and/or information. 
     In the context of this specification, a “computer-readable medium” can be any element that can store the program associated with logic and/or information for use by or in connection with the instruction execution system, apparatus, and/or device. The computer-readable medium can be, for example, but is not limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus or device. More specific examples (a non-exhaustive list) of the computer readable medium would include the following: a portable computer diskette (magnetic, compact flash card, secure digital, or the like), a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM, EEPROM, or Flash memory), a portable compact disc read-only memory (CDROM), and digital tape. 
     The various embodiments described above can be combined to provide further embodiments. To the extent that they are not inconsistent with the specific teachings and definitions herein, all of the U.S. patents, U.S. patent application publications, U.S. patent applications, foreign patents, foreign patent applications and non-patent publications referred to in this specification and/or listed in the Application Data Sheet, including but not limited to 
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     These and other changes can be made to the embodiments in light of the above-detailed description. In general, in the following claims, the terms used should not be construed to limit the claims to the specific embodiments disclosed in the specification and the claims, but should be construed to include all possible embodiments along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled. Accordingly, the claims are not limited by the disclosure.