Lighting automation network

1. A lighting network control server, comprising:

a communication interface to receive data packets from a lighting network and to communicate with a third party automation server, wherein the data packets are generated by a sensor, wherein the data packets are transmitted to the lighting network control server in response to a request from the third party automation server that causes the lighting network control server to send a control signal to the sensor over the lighting network to collect the data packets generated by the sensor;

a non-transitory computer readable medium to store sub-routines, instructions to execute a protocol adapter, and data packets generated by the sensor, wherein each one of the sub-routines is written in advance by a lighting network service provider of the lighting network and comprises a different add-on instruction that is downloaded onto the third party automation server based on a type of data generated by the sensor to modify a controller software executed by the third party automation server for a particular application and to analyze the data packets generated by the sensor and produce an output for the particular application; and

a processor communicatively coupled to the communication interface and the non-transitory computer readable medium to execute the protocol adapter to translate the data packets from a device control protocol over Ethernet protocol used by the lighting network to transmit the data into a protocol that is compatible with the third party automation server by generating a new set of data that is in a protocol that is understood by the third party automation server and transmit the new set of data that are translated to the third party automation server via the communication interface to be analyzed by a sub-routine that is downloaded by the third party automation server.

2. The lighting network control server of claim 1 , further comprising:

a graphical user interface to view, select, and download the sub-routines.

3. The lighting network control server of claim 1 , wherein the data packets comprise sensor data that is collected and transmitted by at least one lighting device of the lighting network.

4. The lighting network control server of claim 3 , wherein the non-light related data is from an external sensor device.

5. The lighting network control server of claim 1 , wherein the communication interface receives the data packets from the lighting network via a gateway.

6. The lighting network control server of claim 1 , wherein the protocol that is compatible with the third party automation server comprises at least one of: Ethernet/IP, BACnet/IP, ControlNet, Modbus, or ProfiNet.

7. A method, comprising:

receiving, by a processor of a lighting system control server, a request from a third party automation controller for a sensor data packet from a sensor;

transmitting, by the processor, a control signal to the sensor over a lighting network to collect the sensor data packet;

receiving, by the processor, the sensor data packet from the lighting network and storing the sensor data packet in a memory of the lighting system control server, wherein the sensor data packet is generated by a sensor;

receiving, by the processor, a request to download a sub-routine related to analyzing the sensor data packet, wherein the sub-routine is written in advance by a lighting network service provider of the lighting network and comprises add-on instructions that are downloaded based on a type of data generated by the sensor to modify a controller software executed by the third party automation server for a particular application and to analyze the sensor data packet generated by the sensor and produce an output for the particular application;

transmitting, by the processor, the sub-routine in response to the request to the third party automation server to be installed on a third party automation server;

translating, by the processor, the sensor data packet into a protocol compatible with the third party automation server via a protocol adapter, wherein the translating comprises generating a new set of data in a protocol that is understood by the third party automation server; and

transmitting, by the processor, the new set of data that is translated into the protocol that is understood by the third party automation server to the third party automation server for analysis via the sub-routine that is downloaded from the lighting system control server.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the sub-routine is selected from a plurality of different sub-routines that are displayed in a graphical user interface of the lighting system control server.

9. The method of claim 7 , wherein the sensor data packet is collected and transmitted by at least one lighting device of the lighting network.

10. The method of claim 7 , wherein the sensor data packet is from an external sensor device.

11. The method of claim 7 , wherein the protocol compatible with the third party automation server comprises at least one of: Ethernet/IP, BACnet/IP, ControlNet, Modbus, or ProfiNet.

12. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing a plurality of instructions, which when executed by a processor of a lighting system control server, cause the processor to perform operations, the operations comprising:

receiving a request from a third party automation controller for a sensor data packet from a sensor;

transmitting a control signal to the sensor over a lighting network to collect the sensor data packet;

receiving the sensor data packet from the lighting network and storing the sensor data packet in a memory of the lighting system control server, wherein the sensor data packet is generated by a sensor;

receiving a request to download a sub-routine related to analyzing the sensor data packet, wherein the sub-routine is written in advance by a lighting network service provider of the lighting network and comprises add-on instructions that are downloaded based on a type of data generated by the sensor to modify a controller software executed by the third party automation server for a particular application and to analyze the sensor data packet generated by the sensor and produce an output for the particular application;

transmitting the sub-routine in response to the request to the third party automation server to be installed on a third party automation server;

translating, via a protocol adapter, the sensor data packet from a device control protocol over Ethernet protocol used by the lighting network to transmit the data into a protocol compatible with the third party automation server, wherein the translating comprises generating a new set of data into a protocol that is understood by the third party automation server; and

transmitting the new set of data that is translated into the protocol understood by the third party automation server to the third party automation server for analysis via the sub-routine that is downloaded from the lighting system control server.

13. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 12 , wherein the sensor data packet is collected from an external sensor device and transmitted by at least one lighting device of the lighting network.

14. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 12 , wherein the protocol compatible with the third party automation server comprises at least one of: Ethernet/IP, BACnet/IP, ControlNet, Modbus, or ProfiNet.