We designed user-friendly Bluetooth Mesh lighting for Hella Marine

Hella’s wireless, programmable lighting system elevates the experience for boat owners and charter guests

The Challenge

Hella Marine is a globally recognised and trusted brand within LED navigation and high-performance marine lighting systems – and is part of global automotive supplier group FORVIA.

Hella received feedback from U.S. boatbuilder buying groups that revealed a gap in its offering. Customers liked the lights but needed a controller solution to complement them. They went on to identify that a controller solution that would reduce installation costs would provide a clear competitive edge.

Jason Anderson, Head of Design at Hella, explained:
“Normally, what would happen with a controller is you’d have something like the switchboard in your house, and it would run power and control cables to every light or group of lights independently. We identified a commercial advantage in reducing the amount of wiring if we could deliver wireless communication around the boat.”
A solution that simplified wiring would not only reduce build time and cost for boat builders but also prove more robust in the harsh marine environment.

How Virscient Delivered

The project faced a compressed timeline—cut from 14–18 months down to just 10. Effective governance and tight scope control ensured deadlines were met without compromising quality.
Jason reflected on the collaboration:
“The way the project worked… was fantastic. The project manager on the Hella side kept a very tight rein on scope… and on the other side, the project management within Virscient worked well, and decisions were made quickly. Focus was kept on the project, and we were able to achieve the delivery we wanted.”
Virscient’s approach combined engineering creativity with disciplined execution, transforming Hella’s initial vision into a solution that delivered against the brief.

Key features included:

Simple onboarding and operation with a smartphone app.
Robust decentralisation, allowing any node to re-establish the system if others were offline.
High-precision synchronisation (<5 ms across nodes), enabling dynamic lighting effects.
Security without complexity, ensuring encrypted communication without manual pairing.

If someone wanted coloured step lamps on their boat… and in a year’s time… underwater lights… the ability to extend the network is invaluable. And again, that idea of not having as much wiring, particularly for the boat builders—that’s a good thing

- Jason Anderson, Head of Design at Hella

The Outcome

The Bluetooth-based controller launched in April/May 2025 and has been enthusiastically received. Builders can integrate it into new vessels or retrofit it into existing ones with minimal effort. Feedback has been positive, with only minor issues traced back to user setup or wiring mistakes—not the product itself.
The system gave Hella a market-defining differentiator: a high-impact, fully customisable lighting experience that can be installed quickly, operated easily, and expanded effortlessly.
This case proves how the right technology can simultaneously reduce BOM and installation costs, improve usability, and create a platform for future product growth.

The Solution: A Smarter Mesh Network

Virscient partnered with Hella to design a Bluetooth® Mesh-based controller system that was robust, secure, and scalable—yet simple for installers and end-users. Typical mesh networks rely on an internet connection for provisioning, synchronisation, and key management. But Hella needed a solution that would work offline, as boats are often out of range.
Virscient engineered a proprietary mesh protocol that required no pairing and no internet connection. Operators simply entered the network name and password on their smartphones to gain secure, instant access.

The result was a system that was:

Flexible and expandable: Additional devices could be added at any time without rewiring.
Cost-effective: Running on low-cost Bluetooth hardware with just a single MCU per node, the solution kept BOM costs down.
Based on a Raytac module that includes Nordic’s nRF52840
Operator-friendly: No complex setup, training, or special hardware required.
Future-proof: Designed with the extensibility to support new devices and features in later iterations by using the app to wirelessly upgrade the controller.

Why Virscient?

For product teams tackling wireless control, monitoring, or data sharing—especially in environments with unreliable connectivity—Virscient offers a proven approach.
Our work with Hella shows how thinking beyond the brief delivers solutions that balance cost, usability, and scalability while setting the stage for future innovation.
Whether your challenge is marine lighting, rural IoT, or industrial asset tracking, Virscient can help you develop technology that’s robust, elegant, and ready for real-world conditions.

We made it work for Hella.

Let's make it work for you

Let's talk!

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