Patent ID: 7254372

Claim:
A method for communicating information related to a plurality street lamps from each such street lamp to a central location, comprising the steps of: attaching and operably connecting a transceiver module to street lamp, said transceiver module including at least a microcontroller and a radio transceiver operating at a power level of no more than 500 mW; and positioning an area control module in the vicinity of the plurality of street lamps, said area control module including at least a microprocessor and a radio transceiver, and said area control module being in communication with said central location; wherein, upon occurrence of a predetermined event, the microcontroller associated with one of said transceiver modules initiating transmission of a message through the radio transceiver, said message containing the identification of and the status of the street lamp; the message being received by the radio transceivers associated with one or more neighboring transceiver modules; each of said receiving transceiver modules making a decision as to whether to re-transmit said message based on a determination of whether the transceiver module is on a designated path between the transceiver module from which the message originated and the area control module; re-transmission of the message continuing along said designated path until the message is received at the area control module; and said area control module communicating said message to the central location.