LED Streetlight Distribution Pattern Polygons

[SSMIC3038]

We have a client that is in the process of swapping out all streetlights for LED, they interested in seeing the various light distribution patterns as actual spatial data.

So, a dozen or so types of LED heads each emit different shaped cones of light (only one being generally round), we could likely generalize into 4-5 different shapes, but they want to see these shapes graphically with relatively accurate linear distance and proper orientation to the road.

Since millions of these lights get installed every year I'm wondering if anything in ArcGIS could accomplish this or if anyone knows of any tools that could be used on many thousands of lights.

Looking for out of the box suggestions, I know we could develop internally but client likely won't want to pay the cost to develop from scratch.

[SpatialNinja]

In theory you could model this with a simple buffer around the light or get more complex by configuring a spatial model to the shape in a 3D environment. PMielke-esristaff‌ , have you seen any attempts at this in the Smart Communities space? 

[Anonymous User · Accepted solution]

I have done camera viewshed modelling in Cityengine with rules-based models (for CCTV viewshed analysis).  It's a good way to create this kind of varied polygon based on attributes, but it may be overkill depending on the scale that you're making a decision on.  

The 2 other ways, specifically for lighting for the scale of crime analysis: 

1. Model lighting (intensity and radius) as a weighted kernel density raster that you then invert over a basemap (with transparency) to show darkness.

2. A lot of Cobra-head lighting options in LED don't make a perfect circle now, you're right.  The color and 'throw' is different.  I'll check for existing GP tools that orient polygons on centroids (light origin) to streets.  

[Anonymous User]

Found something recent:  

https://community.esri.com/people/GTaylor-esristaff/blog/2017/03/21/aligning-3d-street-furniture-to-... 

Geoff Taylor‌ put together this guide for using procedural modeling for street furniture, and he uses streetlights as the 3D example.  You'll want to add your own 3D models for comparison, and this is a guide for procedural modeling:  Procedural symbology—ArcGIS Pro | ArcGIS Desktop