Shopping mall chain invests for IoT lighting

　　Amid all the recent talk about Bluetooth, ZigBee, visible light communications, and Power over Ethernet as communication channels for Internet of Things (IoT) lighting, it's easy to forget there's a ubiquitous infrastructure already in place that can also connect lighting to the Internet: electricity cabling.

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　　A major owner and operator of malls and shopping centers in the UK and Spain appears to see the potential in that technology, called powerline communications (PLC), which runs both data and electricity over standard 120V and 240V lines.

　　The company, London-based Intu, has joined a new £3 million ($3.9 million) Series A investment round in enModus, a Welsh PLC specialist that provides nodes and hubs to turn lights into a data communication network over existing electrical connections, in a system it calls Wattwave.

　　Intu is trialing Wattwave in two small pilots, one at its London headquarters office and another at a storage area at a shopping center in Watford, England. It appears to be considering it for its many retail properties.

　　“We were impressed by the team at enModus and the massive potential their technology offers,” said Intu commercial and digital director Trevor Pereira. He noted that the investment reflects Intu's ongoing efforts at “spotting new ideas and innovations that will help shape the future of our industry and the way in which we operate.”