Luminaire controlllers are low-cost devices. In this context, some lighting managers wonder why increase their cost by adding a GPS module if luminaires have a fix position and they do not move. It's a reasonable question.

The truth is that TSmarT Nodes incorporate a precise GPS module for two reasons. Firstly, the GPS module makes the installation of the Nodes “Plug & Play”, that means that they do not require any attention from the installers, with the consequent cost savings since controllers register and geo-position automatically, without human intervention. This cost savings, in many cases, exceeds the cost of the GPS module to be included in the controllers. However, there is a second, even more powerful reason: the GPS module ensures that TSmarT luminaire controllers have highly accurate local date and time at all times, regardless of whether communications with the Platform are operational. This allows Tellink controllers to ensure that an essential service such as Lighting is not interrupted under any circumstances, even if communication systems or application servers are temporarily unavailable. In this way, a TSmarT Node can guarantee the lighting on/off and dimming of the luminaire for years, with a precision of milliseconds even if the communications network or servers are not available.

Consequently, the GPS module could be considered a kind of "life insurance" for the operation of Lighting, with a level of precision infinitely higher than traditional solutions based on real-time clocks, backed by batteries, which suffer inevitable drifts in time.