EP3981225A1

EP3981225A1 - Rfid integrated light infrastructure

Info

Publication number: EP3981225A1
Application number: EP20744222.9A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Michail ANGELOV
Original assignee: Zumtobel Lighting GmbH Austria
Current assignee: Zumtobel Lighting GmbH Austria
Priority date: 2019-07-31
Filing date: 2020-07-30
Publication date: 2022-04-13
Also published as: EP3772238A1; WO2021019021A1

Abstract

The invention relates to a luminaire or lighting trunking systems (100) arranged in an environment, comprising a housing (101), at least one lighting module (102), a control unit (103) configured to controlling the operation of the lighting module (102), at least one RFID antenna (104), which is integrated in the luminaire or the lighting trunking system at a known location in the environment, wherein the at least one RFID antenna (104) is configured to detect a signal, which is sent from an RFID tag (203) that is located in the environment, as well as an RFID controller (105), designed to process the signals detected by the at least one RFID antenna (104), and wherein the RFID controller (105) is further configured to sending the processed signals signal and information on the location of the RFID tag (203) in the environment to a remote unit, via a wireless or wire-bound communication interface of the luminaire or lighting trunking systems (100).

Description

RFID integrated light infrastructure

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to a luminaire or lighting trunking system, preferably for indoor applications. The invention further relates to a method for operating the luminaire or lighting trunking system, preferably to scan, collect, process in the edge and in the cloud various data structures derived from RFID tags.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Radio frequency identification (RFID) systems are currently the most widely used technology for tracking assets. The system is expensive on infrastructure but very cheap on tags.

RFID is used in different applications in order to provide unique identification codes related with a set of particular items. These items may comprise products in a store or pallets in a warehouse, persons in a race, pets, racehorses, farm animals, cars passing a tollbooth or entering a parking lot, etc .

Usually, singular RFID "tags" are attached to each item where each tag comprises a "chip" encoding digital identification data and an antenna that can communicate wirelessly to an RFID "reader." In some cases "passive" tags are used, where the power necessary to receive a query and transmit identification data back to the reader is also provided via the wireless connection .

In some cases use is made of "active" tags which incorporate batteries to provide a higher power signal that can be read from greater distances.

RFID systems have been implemented over a wide range of radio frequencies. Common embodiments exist using frequencies near 100 kHz, 10 MHz, and various UHF frequencies (100s of MHz to a few GHz) . The choice of the range of frequencies is dictated on the one hand by available radio bands not designated for other applications and on the other hand by the performance needs of particular applications. Most of production, logistics and retails systems make use of such tags.

However, traditional RFID solutions are expensive for the infrastructure and implementation and do not match the expectations. Thus, there is a need for an improved luminaire and an improved lighting trunking system.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The object of the present invention is achieved by the solution provided in the enclosed independent claims. Advantageous implementations of the present invention are further defined in the dependent claims.

According to a first aspect, the invention relates to a luminaire or lighting trunking system arranged in an environment, comprising a housing, at least one lighting module, a control unit configured to control the operation of the lighting module, and at least one RFID antenna, which is integrated in the luminaire or the lighting trunking system at a known location in the environment, wherein the at least one RFID antenna is configured to detect a signal, which is sent from an RFID tag that is located in the environment. The luminaire or lighting trunking system further comprises an RFID controller, designed to process the signal detected by the at least one RFID antenna, wherein the RFID controller is further configured to send the processed signal to a remote unit, via a wireless or wire-bound communication interface of the luminaire or lighting trunking system, wherein the processed signal comprises information on the location of the RFID tag in the environment.

This provides the advantage that a very efficient real time asset tracking system can be created. Luminaires and associated trunking systems, are often installed at locations which are also suitable for RFID identification and tracking, for example distributed over the ceiling of a room, a warehouse or a retail environment. The detection angle of the antenna may correspond to the area covered by the light emitted by the luminaire - thus the light cone can give a user a visualization of the RFID coverage area. The direct line of sight from the tags towards the luminaires and associated trunking systems, enables the integrated RFID antenna and preferably RFID reader to have an improved coverage and optimal propagation parameters, as compared to similar systems .

Lighting trunking systems are available in multiple industrial segments and are used for optimized and more efficient installation, modification and support of luminaires for certain application areas.

For example, the lighting trunking system can be a LED linear trunking systems. Such a LED linear trunking system is a continuous-row lighting assembly that utilizes trunking rails in order to integrate individual lighting fixtures which may include LED light modules, power supplies, lighting controls, and emergency battery packs. The light trunking system can be a flexible trunking system, which can be configured in different ways in order to meet challenging demands for interior lighting in commercial and industrial buildings.

The RFID tag can be a component of the luminaire or lighting trunking system. Alternatively, the RFID tag can be an external component that is separate from the luminaire or lighting trunking system.

In an implementation form of the luminaire or lighting trunking system according to the first aspect, the at least one RFID antenna is connected to a dedicated RFID reader of the luminaire or lighting trunking system, wherein the RFID reader is configured to read the signal that is received at the RFID antenna and to forward said signal to the RFID controller .

Preferably, such a radio frequency identification reader (RFID reader) is a device used to gather information from an RFID tag, which is used to track individual objects. Radio waves are used to transfer data from the tag to a reader.

In particular, the luminaire or lighting trunking system comprises one dedicated RFID reader for each RFID antenna. The RFID antenna and the associated RFID reader can form an RFID gate, which can be integrated in the luminaire or lighting trunking system at a certain known location in the environment. For example, the location of the RFID gates are so called anchorpoints .

In particular, the luminaire or light trunking system comprises an RFID system for the UHF band, which is formed by the integrated RFID antenna and the RFID reader. The RFID system can be configured to energize the RFID tags, collect the reflected signal via the RFID antenna, and send the radio parameters towards the RFID reader and/or the RFID controller, which decode the RFID tag information and exports the data towards an external system, such as the remote unit.

Preferably, this RFID system is integrated in the lighting trunking system 100, which is the attachment point for the RFID antenna and reader, and provides the power for the RFID system as well as a data transmission backbone for transferring the signals and data between the units of the RFID system and the remote deivce, e.g. an edge computing device .

The typical benefits of integrating such an RFID system in a luminaire or lighting trunking system are: (i) a reduced time to install the RFID system. Mainly due to the integrated RFID antenna and reader, there is no need for installation of cables, which are required between a traditional antenna and reader, as well as due to a lack for associated planning and commissioning services; (ii) a reduced bill of materials for cables and connectors; (iii) reduced cost of labor for all professional services, and (iv) simplified RFID antenna and reader components due to the integration into one module.

In an implementation form of the lighting trunking system, according to the first aspect, the RFID controller is a controller separate to the control unit.

This provides the advantage that the RFID controller and the control unit can be operated independently from each other, conferring more flexibility to the luminaire.

In an implementation form of the luminaire or lighting trunking system according to the first aspect, the RFID controller is designed to process signals detected by the RFID antenna in order to extract an RF ID of the RFID tag.

This provides the advantage that objects having the RFID tag can easily be identified and, therefore, processes requiring the identification of objects can be made faster.

Alternatively, the RFID reader can be configured to extract the RF ID from the signal and forward said RF ID to the RFID controller .

In an implementation form of the luminaire or lighting trunking system according to the first aspect, the RFID controller is configured to send the RF ID to said remote unit .

In an implementation form of the luminaire or lighting trunking system according to the first aspect, the RFID controller is configured to extract the information on the location of the RFID tag in the environment based on the known location of the at least one RFID antenna and/or based on a signal strength of the detected signal.

This provides the advantage that a location of the RFID tag and the object carrying said tag can be determined efficiently. In this way, a real time tracking of objects carrying RFID tags in the environment can be realized.

Preferably, the luminaire or lighting trunking system comprises a plurality of RFID antennas, wherein each antenna is located at a known location in the environment. The signal sent by the RFID tag can be detected by two or more of the plurality of RFID antennas. The RFID controller can receive the signal detected by each of the antennas and can determine the information on the location of the RFID tag based on the known location of said RFID antennas, which received the signal, and based on the signal strength of the signal detected by each of these RFID antennas using, for example, a triangulation algorithm.

By combining multiple and integrated RFID antennas and RFID readers with RFID technology that are working in parallel, a high level of item inventory accuracy can be achieved.

In an implementation form of the luminaire or lighting trunking system according to the first aspect, the communication interface is a DALI interface, preferably of a DALI lines enabled data bus, a power line communication interface, an emulated Ethernet interface, a WiFi interface, or a RF wireless interface such as a Bluetooth or a Thread (61owpan) interface.

This provides the advantage that well known communication links are used and, therefore, are easier to implement.

In particular, the luminaire or lighting trunking system can comprise electrical lines and a power line adapter that is connected to the power lines and the communication interface. The power line adapter can be configured to demodulate data received from the electrical lines, e.g. the processed signal from the RFID controller, and to forward said data to the communication interface. In an implementation form of the luminaire or lighting trunking system according to the first aspect, the at least one RFID antenna is integrated in the housing of the luminaire or lighting trunking system, or the lighting trunking system comprises a trunking rail, wherein the at least one RFID antenna is attached to the trunking rail.

Further, the RFID antenna can be attached to a light fixture body of the luminaire.

In an implementation form of the luminaire or lighting trunking system according to the first aspect, the RFID antenna is configured to cover frequencies from 30 KHz to 300 KHz .

In an implementation form of the luminaire or lighting trunking system according to the first aspect, the RFID antenna is configured to cover frequencies from 3 to 30 MHz.

In an implementation form of the luminaire or lighting trunking system according to the first aspect, the RFID antenna is configured to cover frequencies from 300 MHz to 3 GHz .

In an implementation form of the luminaire or lighting trunking system according to the first aspect, the luminaire or lighting trunking system comprises at least one LED.

Preferably, the lighting module comprises the LED or is connected to the LED.

In an implementation form of the luminaire or lighting trunking system according to the first aspect, the lighting module comprises an LED-driver.

In an implementation form of the luminaire or lighting trunking system according to the first aspect, the luminaire comprises integrated asset track technology.

In an implementation form of the luminaire or lighting trunking system according to the first aspect, the communication interface is further adapted to be used to control the luminaire or lighting trunking system, in particular to exchange signals in relation to the generation of light by the luminaire or lighting trunking system.

In an implementation form of the luminaire or lighting trunking system according to the first aspect, the communication interface is a dedicated communication interface of the RFID controller, which is not adapted to be used to control other functions of the luminaire or lighting trunking system.

According to a second aspect, the invention relates to a method for operating a luminaire or lighting trunking system arranged in an environment, in particular the luminaire or lighting trunking system according to the first aspect of the invention, comprising:

- controlling an operation of a lighting module,

- processing a signal detected by at least one RFID antenna of the luminaire or lighting trunking system, wherein the signal is sent from an RFID tag that is located in the environment, and wherein the at least one RFID antenna is integrated in the luminaire or the lighting trunking system at a known location in the environment; and

sending the processed signals to a remote unit, via a wireless or wire-bound communication link, wherein the processed signal comprises information on the location of the RFID tag in the environment.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will be explained in the followings together with the figures.

Fig. 1 shows a schematic of a luminaire or lighting trunking system according to an embodiment;

Fig. 2 shows a schematic diagram of a lighting trunking system according to an embodiment;

Fig. 3a shows an RFID system according to an embodiment;

Fig. 3b shows the RFID system of Fig. 3a according to a further embodiment;

Fig. 3c shows an RFID system according to an embodiment;

Fig. 4 shows a schematic diagram of a luminaire or lighting trunking system according to an embodiment; and

Fig. 5 shows a method for operating a luminaire or lighting trunking system according to an embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Aspects of the present invention are described herein in the context of a lighting trunking system. The present invention is described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which various aspects of the present invention are shown. This invention however may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the various aspects of the present invention presented through this disclosure. Rather, these aspects are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the present invention to those skilled in the art. The various aspects of the present invention illustrated in the drawings may not be drawn to scale. Rather, the dimensions of the various features may be expanded or reduced for clarity. In addition, some of the drawings may be simplified for clarity. Thus, the drawings may not depict all of the components of a given apparatus.

Various aspects of a lighting trunking system will be presented. However, as those skilled in the art will readily appreciate, these aspects may be extended to aspects of luminaires without departing from the invention.

The term "LED luminaire" shall mean a luminaire with a light source comprising one or more LEDs. LEDs are well-known in the art, and therefore, will only briefly be discussed to provide a complete description of the invention.

It is further understood that the aspect of the present invention might contain integrated circuits that are readily manufacturable using conventional semiconductor technologies, such as complementary metal-oxide semiconductor technology, short "CMOS". In addition, the aspects of the present invention may be implemented with other manufacturing processes for making optical as well as electrical devices. Reference will now be made in detail to implementations of the exemplary aspects as illustrated in the accompanying drawings. The same references signs will be used throughout the drawings and the following detailed descriptions to refer to the same or like parts.

Fig. 1 shows a schematic of a luminaire or lighting trunking system 100 arranged in an environment according to an embodiment .

The luminaire or lighting trunking system 100 comprises a housing 101, at least one lighting module 102, a control unit 103 configured to control the operation of the lighting module 102, and at least one RFID antenna 104, which is integrated in the luminaire or the lighting trunking system 100 at a known location in the environment, wherein the at least one RFID antenna 104 is configured to detect a signal, which is sent from an RFID tag that is located in the environment.

The luminaire or lighting trunking system 100 further comprises an RFID controller 105, which is configured to process the signal detected by the at least one RFID antenna 104, wherein the RFID controller 105 is further configured to send the processed signal to a remote unit, via a wireless or wire-bound communication interface of the luminaire or lighting trunking system 100, wherein the processed signal comprises information on the location of the RFID tag in the environment .

The RFID controller 105 can be a controller separate to the control unit 103 controlling the operation of the lighting module 102.

The luminaire or light trunking system 100 can comprise at least one LED. For example, the luminaire 100 is an LED luminaire .

The luminaire or light trunking system 100 can comprise a lighting control system, which is configured to provide common functions to the at least one LED, such as power supply, mechanical attachments and multipole conducting section.

Advantageously, the RFID technology integrated into the luminaire or lighting trunking systems 100 is capable of real time scanning of inventory. In this way, integrate asset tracking can be combined with basic light availability services .

Moreover, the luminaire or lighting trunking system 100 provides the advantage of maintaining and supporting asset tracking within the environment, and offers simple integration to existing production, logistics and warehouse management systems .

Preferably, the at least one RFID antenna 104 is connected to a dedicated RFID reader, wherein the RFID reader is configured to read the signal that is received at the RFID antenna 104 and to forward said signal to the RFID controller 105.

Advantageously, integrating the RFID antennas 104 and RFDI readers into the luminaire or lighting trunking system 100 allows for a better output power, sensitivity, and SW controllable low and normal gain functionalities of the antennas 104 and readers.

The data or signals detected by the RFID antenna 104 and/or reader can be forwarded to the RFID controller via a luminaire data network, via an additional data network enabled by the luminaire or lighting trunking system 100, or via a wireless communication link. For example, the signals can be forwarded via a power line communication link or a DALI link of the luminaire or lighting trunking system 100.

Furthermore, the luminaire or lighting trunking systems 100 provides the advantage of reducing overall costs, while improving business value. Moreover, the integrated RFID technology within the luminaire or lighting trunking system 100 allows for easy installation, commissioning and integration to other systems.

Moreover, the luminaire or lighting trunking systems 100 provides the advantage of locating RFID tagged items in the environment, for example materials for a production process. In a production environment, this can speed up a production process .

Moreover, the luminaire or lighting trunking systems 100 provides the advantage that a high transparency of assembly, production and manufacturing processes can be obtained.

Furthermore, real time information on the location and amount of raw materials can be obtained, and missing materials or unnecessary overstocking can be avoided.

Moreover, high quality, security, and safety standards can be achieved, since the luminaire or lighting trunking system 100 allows to accurately validate item authenticity at any time.

The luminaire or lighting trunking system 100 ensures further that the right amount of parts or materials are provided in the correct locations in order to optimize the manufacturing process .

Advantageously, real time information on the flow of materials allowed by the luminaire or lighting trunking systems 100 brings the transparency needed to reduce dependency on warehouses and to send materials directly to their destinations, e.g. shops. This can speed up the production with a total track and trace of in-transit items.

Fig. 2 shows a schematic diagram of a lighting trunking system 100 according to an embodiment.

The lighting trunking system 100 comprises a plurality of RFID gates 201, wherein each RFID gate 201 comprises an RFID antenna 104 and an associated RFID reader. Further, the lighting trunking system 100 comprises light sources 205, such as LEDs, for illuminating the environment.

Preferably, each RFID gate 201 is integrated in the lighting trunking system 100 at a certain known location in the environment. The RFID gates 201 are, for example, attached to a trunking rail 202 or integrated in a housing of the lighting trunking system. In particular, the RFID gates 201 are distributed evenly in the environment in order to cover an area as optimally as possible.

The RFID gates 201 can be configured to emit an UHF signal to power RFID tags 203 in the environment, for example in an area below the lighting trunking system 100. Preferably, each RFID gate 201 can power RFID tags 203 within its line of sight. For instance, the range of the RFID gates 201 is circa 10 meters. The RFID tags 203 can be attached to objects in the environment .

The RFID gates 201 can be configured to detect an RFID signal emitted by the energized RFID tags 203, and forward this signal to the RFID controller 105. Thereby, the RFID gates 201 can transmit further information, such as the detected signal strength or an identifier of the RFID gate, such that the RFID controller 105 can assign each detected signal to the detecting RFID gate 201.

The RFID controller 105 can be configured to extract an RF ID from the detected signal. The RF ID can be an ID of the RFID tag 203 and can be used to identify the object equipped with the tag 203. Alternative, the RFID gate 201 can already extract the RF ID and forward said ID to the RFID controller 105.

As shown in Fig. 2, the RFID controller 105 can be configured to receive signals from two or more RFID gates 201. If two or more RFID gates 201 detect the signal from the same RFID tag 203 and both gates 201 forward said signal to the RFID controller 105, than said RFID controller 105 can be configured to determine the location of the RFID tags 203 based on the known locations of the RFID gates 201, which detected the signal, and/or based on the signal strengths of the forwarded signals. To determine the location based on the signal strength of various forwarded signals, the RFID controller 105 can use a location algorithm, such as a triangulation algorithm.

For example, the signal detected by the RFID gate 201 in close proximity to the RFID tag 203 has a higher signal strength than the signal detected by another RFID gate 201 that is further away from the RFID tag 203. In combination with the known locations of the RFID gates 201, this allows to calculate a probable location of the RFID tag 203. In particular, the RFID controller 105 can be configured to determine a received signal strength indicator (RSSI) of each signal .

The RFID controller 105 can use edge processing and can be configured to forward the processed signal to the external device 106 via the communication interface and/or an API.

The external device 106 can be a cloud management system. The cloud management system can be configured to manage multiple local systems and orchestrate locally exposed data to further external systems 207, for example, via a further API. The further external system 207 can be a computer system that makes use of the detected information.

Fig. 3a shows an RFID system 200 according to an embodiment.

In a first step, the RFID system 200 emits an UHF signal, via the RFID antenna 104. This UHF signal is received by an RFID tag 203.

In a second step, the (typically) passive RFID tag 203 reflects a part of the signal back to the RFID antenna 104 and a connected reader.

In a third step, the RFID antenna 104 captures the reflected signal .

In a fourth step, the RFID reader forwards the captured signal to an RFID controller (not shown) which interprets the signal, especially in order to extract an RF ID modulated by the tag into the reflected signal, and sends the received data for further processing.

In a fifth step, external (remote) systems, such as business systems make use of the asset information.

Preferably, the luminaire or light trunking system 100 shown in Fig. 1 comprises an RFID system 200 as shown in Fig. 3a. Thereby, the RFID system 200 can utilize the luminaire or lighting trunking systems location and power supply, and can, thus, be more efficient and easier to maintain during its lifetime .

Fig. 3b shows the RFID system 200 of Fig. 3a according to a further embodiment.

In Fig. 3b, the RFID system 200, in particular the RFID antenna 104 and the RFID reader, are integrated in a lighting trunking system 100. Thereby the RFID antenna 104 and the RFID reader form an RFID gate, which can be a single unit or module that is attached to the lighting trunking system 100, e.g. to a trunking rail.

Preferably, the RFID gate that is attached to the lighting trunking system 100 is located at a known location in the environment .

Fig. 3c shows the RFID system 300 according to a further embodiment .

Similar to the system 200 shown in Fig. 3a and 3b, the RFID antenna of the system 300 can send an UHF signal to the RFID tag 203. Then, an RFID antenna 104 of the system 300 can detect the reflected signal and an RFID controller can interpret the signal and, finally, send the received data for further processing to a remote unit or system.

Fig. 4 shows a schematic diagram of the luminaire or lighting trunking system 100 according to a further embodiment. In particular, Fig. 4 shows a luminaire or lighting trunking system 100 with an integrated RFID system.

Preferably, the luminaire or lighting trunking systems 100 can comprises the RFID controller 105, which can be designed to process signals detected by the RFID antenna 104 and the RFID reader, e.g. to extract the RF ID sent from the RFID tag 203.

The RFID antennas 104 and readers can be integrated in the housing 101 of the luminaire or lighting trunking systems 100 at certain known locations in the environment. Each pair of RFID antenna 104 and dedicated RFID reader can form an RFID gate .

Moreover, the RFID controller 105 and/or the RFID gate 201 can send the RF ID to the remote unit such as the cloud platform.

The communication link used for forwarding signals between the RFID gate 201 and the RFID controller 105 can be a DALI based data bus or wireless (RF) technology, as shown in Fig. 4. To this regard, the luminaire can comprise a wireless or wire- bound interface.

The RFDI controller 105 can in turn communicate with the remote unit 106, such as a Cloud Management system via an IP based interface, e.g. using a web service. The RFID controller 105 can also communicate with additional external services via the IP based interface and web service further using pre defined application programing interfaces (API) .

The communication sent by the RFID controller 105 may be sent via a communication link/interface, which is also used for controlling the luminaire or lighting trunking system 100, for example for the exchange of signals in relation to the light generation. However, the communication forwarded by the RFID controller 105 may alternatively be sent via a dedicated communication link/interface, which is not used for the control of the luminaire or lighting trunking system 100.

Fig. 5 shows a method 500 for operating a luminaire or lighting trunking system 100 according to an embodiment.

The luminaire or lighting trunking system 100 is arranged in an environment. The method 500 comprises the following steps:

- controlling 501 an operation of a lighting module 102, processing 502 a signal detected by at least one RFID antenna 104 of the luminaire or lighting trunking system 100, wherein the signal is sent from an RFID tag that is located in an environment, and wherein the at least one RFID antenna 104 is integrated in the luminaire or the lighting trunking system 100 at a known location in the environment, and

- sending 503 the processed signals to a remote unit, via a wireless or wire-bound communication link, wherein the processed signal comprises information on the location of the RFID tag in the environment.

Claims

1. A luminaire or lighting trunking system (100) arranged in an environment, comprising:

- a housing (101),

- at least one lighting module (102),

- a control unit (103) configured to control the operation of the lighting module (102),

- at least one RFID antenna (104), which is integrated in the luminaire or the lighting trunking system at a known location in the environment, wherein the at least one RFID antenna (104) is configured to detect a signal, which is sent from an RFID tag (203) that is located in the environment, as well as

- an RFID controller (105), designed to process the signal detected by the at least one RFID antenna (104),

wherein the RFID controller (105) is further configured to send the processed signal to a remote unit, via a wireless or wire-bound communication interface of the luminaire or lighting trunking system (100), wherein the processed signal comprises information on the location of the RFID tag (203) in the environment.

2. The luminaire or lighting trunking system (100) of claim 1, wherein the at least one RFID antenna (104) is connected to a dedicated RFID reader of the luminaire or lighting trunking system (100), wherein the RFID reader is configured to read the signal that is received at the RFID antenna and to forward said signal to the RFID controller.

3. The luminaire or lighting trunking system (100) of claim 1 or 2, wherein the RFID controller (105) is a controller separate to the control unit (103) .

4. The luminaire or lighting trunking system (100) of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the RFID controller (105) is designed to process the signal detected by the at least one RFID antenna (104) in order to extract an RF ID of the RFID tag (203) .

5. The luminaire or lighting trunking system (100) of claim 4, wherein the RFID controller (105) is configured to send the RF ID to said remote unit.

6. The luminaire or lighting trunking system (100) of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the RFID controller (105) is configured to extract the information on the location of the RFID tag (203) in the environment based on the known location of the at least one RFID antenna (104) and/or based on a signal strength of the detected signal.

7. The luminaire or lighting trunking system (100) of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the communication interface is a DALI interface, preferably of a DALI lines enabled data bus, a power line communication interface, an emulated Ethernet interface, a WiFi interface, or a RF wireless interface such as a Bluetooth or a Thread (61owpan) interface.

8. The luminaire or lighting trunking system (100) of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the at least one RFID antenna (104) is integrated in the housing (101) of the luminaire or lighting trunking system (100), or wherein the lighting trunking system (100) comprises a trunking rail (202), wherein the at least one RFID antenna (104) is attached to the trunking rail (202) .

9. The luminaire or lighting trunking system (100) of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the at least one RFID antenna (104) is configured to cover frequencies from 30 KHz to 300 KHz .

10. The luminaire or lighting trunking system (100) of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the at least one RFID antenna (104) is configured to cover frequencies from 3 to 30 MHz.

11. The luminaire or lighting trunking system (100) of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the at least one RFID antenna (104) is configured to cover frequencies from 300 MHz to 3 GHz .

12. The luminaire or lighting trunking system (100) of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the luminaire or lighting trunking system (100) comprises at least one LED.

13. The luminaire or lighting trunking system (100) of claim 12, wherein the lighting module (102) comprises an LED-driver.

14. The luminaire or lighting trunking system (100) of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the luminaire or lighting trunking system (100) comprises integrated asset track technology .

15. The luminaire or lighting trunking system (100) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the communication interface is further adapted to be used to control the luminaire or lighting trunking system (100), in particular to exchange signals in relation to the generation of light by the luminaire or lighting trunking system (100) .

16. The luminaire or lighting trunking system (100) according to any of the claims 1 to 14, wherein the communication interface is a dedicated communication interface of the RFID controller (105), which is not adapted to be used to control other functions of the luminaire or lighting trunking system (100) .

17. A method (500) for operating a luminaire or lighting trunking system (100) arranged in an environment, in particular the luminaire or lighting trunking system (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 16, comprising:

- controlling (501) an operation of a lighting module (102),

- processing (502) a signal detected by at least one RFID antenna (104) of the luminaire or lighting trunking system (100), wherein the signal is sent from an RFID tag (203) that is located in the environment, and wherein the at least one RFID antenna (104) is integrated in the luminaire or the lighting trunking system (100) at a known location in the environment; and

- sending (503) the processed signals to a remote unit, via a wireless or wire-bound communication link, wherein the processed signal comprises information on the location of the RFID tag (203) in the environment.