The TALQ Consortium, developers of the global standard interface for smart outdoor lighting networks, have just released the formal beta version of the entire TALQ Test Suite for its members. With this test tool companies can now start testing their smart lighting solutions for multi-vendor interoperability. The Test Suite will allow first products to be TALQ certified later this year – ensuring interoperability without the expense and delay of plug fests. Furthermore, the tool enables the Consortium to work on extending the TALQ Standard to other smart city applications.

Cities and municipalities, when planning long-term investments like street lighting, always try to choose future-proof and interoperable solutions that will not constrain their future investment decisions. That is why, in 2012, the TALQ Consortium was founded to develop a global interface standard to connect and manage heterogeneous street lighting networks from many different hardware and software vendors. The TALQ Specification focuses on the so-called ‘application layer’ of the interface protocol, allowing maximum freedom for outdoor lighting manufacturers to develop optimized solutions within an interoperable framework. The TALQ Interface is built on standard internet protocols and security standards, such as XML/HTTP and Transport Layer Security, and is independent of connectivity technology.

NetworksIn addition to the technical specifications, a rigorous test procedure and intelligent test tool have been developed to ensure TALQ-compliant products provide the highest level of interoperability. The beta version of this complete TALQ Test Suite is now available to all TALQ member companies. For the first time lighting manufacturers have access to a tool allowing them to evaluate their own products for TALQ protocol compliance. The test tool supports the full TALQ protocol and can test both the TALQ bridge and Central Management System interfaces.

The beta version of the test tool allows real-time testing of the manufacturer’s implementation of every feature for TALQ compatibility. First tests of existing products during an earlier plug fest have proven the added benefit of functionality and reliability testing using the test suite.

“The test tool is the fruit of constructive collaboration and detailed feedback from many experienced companies of the lighting industry. We are proud to release a tool that enables the industry to develop interoperable systems and ease investment decisions for cities.” says Dr. Nick Hewish, facilitator of the TALQ Certification Working Group. A larger plug fest for TALQ member companies to test their products against each other and to approve the test tool itself will take place in Valencia, Spain, on April 4- 6, 2017.

While the TALQ Consortium finalizes the rollout of the Smart Outdoor Lighting Standard, it can now concentrate on new topics such as opening the TALQ Specification to become a standard interface for other smart city applications. In this way TALQ will continue to enable cities to have more flexibility, reduce investment risks, become future-proof and achieve greater operational savings.