Algorithm for real-time colour mixing of a five-channel LED system while optimising spectral quality parameters

Multichannel LED luminaires with more than three channels offer the advantage to vary the spectrum and keeping the chromaticity steady. However, the optimisation calculations of various quality metrics are a challenge for real-time implementation, especially for the limited resources of a luminaire’s microcontroller. Here, we present a method in which a five-channel system is simulated with a quickly solvable 3-channel system by defining virtual channels, each consisting of two LED channels. An analysis of the influence of the parameterisation of the virtual valences on various quality metrics is presented. It shows how these parameters must be set at the time of the mixing calculation, in order to optimise the desired quality aspect. The mixing calculation can thus be carried out in real-time without high hardware requirements and is suitable for further developments, for example, to compensate for colour drift of the LEDs through sensor feedback.