Willem II-Passage, Tilburg, the Netherlands

An Intelligent Solution: MOBOTIX Directs Light Experience in Willem II Passage

In Tilburg, the dynamically lit Willem II passage connects the city center with the trendy Spoorzone. Cyclists, runners, and walkers who use this underpass find themselves part of a unique light experience. MOBOTIX cameras in the ceiling automatically detect all passers-by and control around 14,000 LED lights in the walls based on the direction and speed of their movement. This innovative light experience has been internationally recognized with an iF Design Award. MOBOTIX cameras are suitable for IoT applications, automatically respond to the environment, and are easy to integrate with other technology, such as the lighting installation.

Key Data

Sector Government

Customer Municipality of Tilburg, the Netherlands

Partners Signify (formerly Philips Lighting)

Products 4x S15 camera

Willem II Passage (PDF, 672.87 KB)

| DE | EN | ES | FR | IT | NL

Challenge: a safe, dynamically lit passage

As part of the Spoorzone development, the municipality of Tilburg launched a competition for the design and creation of a safe and dynamically lit passage. Inspired by the film “Her,” Ingrid van der Heijden, architect and partner with CIVIC Architects in Amsterdam, designed a dynamic light experience that responds to passers-by. “Technology is becoming increasingly smarter and can add major value to urban environments, but it has to function as discreetly as possible. Based on this vision, we have developed a unique reactive light experience in the Willem II passage for the municipality of Tilburg.”

Solution: lighting controlled by smart cameras

“The Willem II passage is a rail underpass between the city center and the Theresia district,” says Patrick van de Wiel, who is responsible for CCTV, public lighting, and traffic in the municipality of Tilburg. “Philips Lighting, now Signify, created a light experience in collaboration with CIVIC Architects and partners from MOBOTIX that responds to every passer-by. The light from around 14,000 LED lights changes depending on the season, our event calendar, and the speed of passers-by. The unique light experience this creates is controlled by four MOBOTIX S15 cameras with double lenses. For us, this is solely a decorative application of smart cameras and lighting and does not serve as a form of surveillance.”

Summary of experiences

Signify has also been taking care of the operational management and maintenance of the lighting solution for the Willem II passage for seven years. “We use the management software to monitor whether our light experience is functioning properly, but that is the extent of it,” Van de Wiel continues. “It is a stable functioning solution, in which cameras detect the movement, direction, and speed of each passer-by in dozens of zones and direct a reactive light experience based on that. Everyone is enthusiastic about it, and many people stop for a bit during the evenings and at night to experience the light show more consciously.”

It is a stable functioning solution, in which cameras detect the movement, direction, and speed of each passer-by in dozens of zones and direct a reactive light experience based on that.

Patrick van de Wiel, Municipality of Tilburg