sevenlab engineering is proud to announce that our pull request for a DALI low-level driver has been successfully merged into the Zephyr project.
This milestone is the result of weeks of deep technical work: implementation, discussion, review, and rigorous refactoring. It took time and dedication, but we are confident it was worth every hour invested.
What is DALI? DALI (Digital Addressable Lighting Interface) is the de-facto standard for controlling lighting in professional buildings. Its success rests on two pillars: minimal hardware requirements and powerful, flexible lighting automation. Equally important is its pragmatic certification process with intensive testing, accessible equipment, and procedures provided by the DALI Alliance, which has made it the dominant interface in professional lighting. Meeting the standard’s specifications demands real effort; the testing is thorough and access to certified test equipment is mandatory.
What is Zephyr? Zephyr is a real-time operating system (RTOS) purpose-built for microcontrollers, rooted in the Linux Foundation as an open-source, community-driven project. It goes far beyond simple task scheduling frameworks: Zephyr provides a complete ecosystem of production-ready libraries covering virtually every communication protocol, both wired (Ethernet, CAN, Modbus) and wireless (Wi-Fi, BLE, Cellular). Having just celebrated its 10th anniversary, the project is more vibrant and actively developed than ever.
What is the synergy? Building automation is a natural home for microcontroller-based solutions, where local device intelligence combined with centralized control is exactly where Zephyr shines. The DALI Alliance has recently standardized IP-based communication for DALI components, making Zephyr the obvious firmware foundation for next-generation devices. Until now, a standardized DALI bus interface was missing from the ecosystem. Our contribution fills that gap: it introduces an experimental API for DALI low-level drivers along with a prototype implementation, validated against the DALI standard, for Nordic and ST microcontrollers.
Who is sevenlab engineering GmbH? We are embedded systems specialists with deep expertise in microcontrollers, Zephyr, Linux, communication protocols, lighting, and building automation. As a registered member of the Zephyr project, we are actively shaping the ecosystem and not just using it. With over 10 years of hands-on experience with the DALI standard, we bring a level of domain knowledge that goes from protocol internals to certified product delivery. Whether you’re building a connected product from scratch or taking an existing solution to the next level, we’re here to help.
