Area illumination system and method

1. An illumination system for generating a predefined illumination pattern on an area, the system comprising:

a plurality of luminaires, each luminaire having an orientation adjustment mechanism and being arranged to generate a contribution to said predefined illumination pattern on a part of said area;

a plurality of cameras, each camera associated with at least one of said luminaires for capturing an image of an illuminated part of said area including the contribution generated by said associated luminaire;

a data storage device storing a light plan including positional information and aiming information for each luminaire; and

a control unit adapted to facilitate the generation of the predefined illumination pattern by:

evaluating one of said images to determine a deviation from the predefined illumination pattern for the illuminated part of said area captured in said image;

selecting a luminaire from said plurality of luminaires based on information contained in said light plan; and

generating an orientation adjustment signal for the selected luminaire based on the determined deviation.

2. The illumination system of claim 1 , wherein the orientation adjustment mechanism is an electronically controllable orientation adjustment mechanism, and wherein the orientation adjustment signal is for controlling the electronically controllable orientation adjustment mechanism.

3. The illumination system of claim 1 , wherein the control unit is adapted to:

select a first luminaire of said plurality and generate the orientation adjustment signal for the first luminaire to align the contribution to the illumination pattern generated by the first luminaire with a reference point on said area based on the image captured by the camera associated with the first luminaire; and

repeatedly select a subsequent luminaire of said plurality and generate the orientation adjustment signal for the subsequent luminaire to align the contribution to the illumination pattern generated by the subsequent luminaire with a contribution to the illumination pattern generated by a previously selected luminaire based on the image captured by at least one of (a) the camera associated with the subsequent luminaire, and (b) the camera associated with the previously selected luminaire, until the predefined illumination pattern has been established.

4. The illumination system of claim 1 , further comprising a plurality of further cameras for positioning along different viewing angles of the area, each of the further cameras being arranged to capture a further image of at least a part of the illumination pattern along its viewing angle, wherein the control unit is adapted to facilitate the generation of the predefined illumination pattern by selecting a luminaire and generate the orientation adjustment signal for the selected luminaire in response to:

illumination pattern information extracted from an image captured by the camera associated with the selected luminaire; and

illumination pattern information extracted from respective images captured by the further cameras.

5. The system of claim 1 , further comprising a data storage device storing association information identifying each luminaire associated with a particular camera, wherein the control unit is adapted to select the luminaire associated with the determined deviation based on the information contained in the light plan and the association information.

6. The illumination system of claim 1 , wherein the light plan further contains orientation information for each luminaire, and wherein the control unit is adapted to generate the orientation adjustment signal for the selected luminaire from its orientation information in the light plan and to optionally update the orientation information of the selected luminaire in accordance with the generated orientation adjustment signal.

7. The illumination system of claim 1 , wherein the control unit is adapted to iteratively:

receive and evaluate an updated image of said illuminated part for determining an updated deviation from the predefined illumination pattern following an orientation adjustment of the selected luminaire; and

generate a further orientation adjustment signal for the selected luminaire in order to reduce the updated deviation until said updated deviation falls below a predefined deviation threshold or until the number of iterations exceeds a predefined iteration threshold.

8. The illumination system of claim 1 , wherein the control unit is further adapted to adjust the intensity of the contribution to the illumination pattern generated by the selected luminaire to achieve the predefined illumination pattern.

9. The illumination system of claim 1 , wherein each luminaire comprises a camera mounted on the luminaire and wherein a field of view of said camera is aligned with a direction in which the associated luminaire generates its contribution.

10. The illumination system of claim 1 , wherein each camera is associated with more than one luminaire.

11. The illumination system of claim 1 , wherein said illuminated part is illuminated by a plurality of said contributions, wherein said contributions are partially overlapping in said predefined illumination pattern.

12. The illumination system of 1 , wherein the control unit employs an algorithm for:

evaluating a luminous distribution captured in said image; and

comparing the evaluated luminous distribution with an intended luminous distribution of the predefined illumination pattern,

wherein the control unit is adapted to generate the orientation adjustment signal based on said comparison.

13. The illumination system of claim 1 , wherein the area is one of a pitch of a stadium, a building façade, a floor area of a commercial building or a parking area.

14. The illumination system of claim 1 , wherein the predefined illumination pattern is a homogeneous illumination pattern.

15. A computer-implemented method for generating a predefined illumination pattern on an area with a plurality of luminaires each comprising an adjustable orientation mechanism and being arranged to generate a contribution to said illumination pattern on a part of said area, the method comprising the steps of:

capturing an image of an illuminated part of said area including the contribution generated by said associated luminaire;

evaluating said image to determine a deviation from the predefined illumination pattern for the illuminated part of said area captured in said image;

selecting a luminaire from said plurality of luminaires based on information in a light plan including positional information and aiming information for each luminaire; and

generating an orientation adjustment signal for the selected luminaire based on the determined deviation.