The described embodiments relate to systems, methods, and apparatus for employing a network (410) of smart luminaires (402, 440) to perform tasks typically reserved for remote servers. The network of smart luminaires can include lighting elements for illuminating an area, as well as a computer system for processing and transmitting data. Various computational tasks can be parsed and delegated to certain smart luminaires in the network (410) in order to optimize the use of each smart luminaire in the network. Computational tasks can originate at the smart luminaires or be delegated to the smart luminaires by another device. Additionally, data that is processed by the smart luminaires can be transmitted to other devices, thereby allowing other devices to leverage the computing power of a nearby network of smart luminaires.