The National University of Río Negro in Argentina and the National Scientific and Technical Research Council have developed the world's first "on-demand public lighting system

Born from Community Debate: The Innovative Concept of “Respectful Lighting”
This world-leading technology originated from a years-long community dispute in the Los Coihues neighborhood of Bariloche. Since 2014, local residents have faced a persistent conflict between safety lighting and dark-sky preservation. Some residents demanded brighter public lighting for nighttime security, while others advocated protecting nocturnal ecosystems and astronomical observation environments from excessive light pollution.

During a community assembly attended by more than 120 residents, participants reached a consensus to abandon the two extreme models of full-night illumination and complete darkness, and explore a balanced third solution: respectful lighting.

The community demand was incorporated into UNRN’s interdisciplinary program “Science, Ethics, Socio‑Productive and Environmental Intervention.” Students majoring in environmental engineering, electronic engineering, telecommunications, computer science and economics jointly participated in the R&D project. Under the coordination and supervision of researcher Santiago Conti, the team carried out continuous participatory design and iteration with local residents and finally finalized the system solution. The initial prototype was built based on Wi‑Fi connection. Even after the course concluded, the student team continued optimizing and upgrading the technology to achieve a mature, fully functional system design.

Mobile-Controlled Smart Lighting: Zero Invalid Energy Waste
Different from conventional all-night municipal lighting and passive motion-sensor streetlights, this on-demand system completely revolutionizes lighting activation logic through active human-machine interaction. Instead of being triggered automatically by environmental changes, streetlights are activated only when users send lighting requests through a mobile application. The system turns on road lights sequentially according to the pedestrian’s moving path, forming a real-time dynamic light trail.

The active user-triggered design effectively eliminates unnecessary lighting caused by wind, animal activities and other irrelevant disturbances, minimizing energy waste and achieving ultra-low-power urban night illumination.

In an official statement, the university explained that the technology addresses a global urban challenge: balancing public safety, energy conservation and ecological protection. As light pollution increasingly threatens biodiversity, human health and astronomical observation, the system provides a sustainable and intelligent solution for low-carbon urban development.

Global Original Technology with Official Patent Authorization
The patent was formally approved by Argentina’s National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI). Verified as an unprecedented technical solution worldwide, it marks the first officially authorized patent in the history of the National University of Río Negro, possessing high scientific research value and industrial application potential.

The core innovation lies in transferring lighting control from centralized municipal management to individual users. For the first time, it realizes full engineering implementation of true “on-demand lighting”, completely reconstructing the operation logic of urban public lighting systems.

At present, the system has passed laboratory verification and prototype testing with stable performance, reliable energy-saving effects and high environmental adaptability. In the next phase, the R&D team will cooperate with municipal authorities to launch large-scale field trials on urban streets in Bariloche, accelerating commercial promotion and popularization to build a smarter, greener and more eco-friendly urban nighttime environment.