The Dutch company Tvilight offers street lighting that dims if nobody is there, but become brighter as soon as a car, bike or pedestrian approaches.
Rendering: Tvilight

Tvilight, a startup lighting company in Groningen, the Netherlands, is offering street lighting that dims if nobody is there, but become brighter as soon as a car, bike or pedestrians approach. The lighting system uses "plug-and-play" integrated wireless sensors to control existing as well as new street lighting fixtures, including LEDs. Inbuilt monitoring via web-based software notifies city managers of lamp failures, decay and other maintenance problems. The company says that a combination of wireless and sensors make the system work, and that such a system was not possible just five years ago.

Dutch artist Daan Roosegaarde and Heijmans Infrastructure are working on the "Smart Highway" pilot project. The project is looking at illuminating paint for roads. Giant snowflakes, for instance, could warn drivers of icy conditions. The glow in the dark paint could also provide interactive traffic directions. There's even an idea for a priority lane that automatically recharges electric cars.
Photograph: Studio Roosegaarde

Meanwhile, the Dutch city of Eindhoven introduced on March 14, 2014 a similar lighting system with computer-controlled color LEDs. Eindhoven is adding a bit of green and blue to the lighting to "enhance residents' feeling of well-being," reports Rik van Stiphout, the city's lighting project manager.

The lighting for Eindhoven also uses using wireless technology to adjust lighting to create a particular ambience, for instance on a street corner where a restaurant is located. Eindhoven has also installed pedestrian crossings with sensor-equipped, illuminated white stripes to tell pedestrians it's safe to cross.