NEWS : TECH (NFPC)

Smartphone Controls 'Brainy,' Wi-Fi LED Bulb

In the last few years there have been a lot of attempts to reinvent the light bulb. The latest stab at it comes from a Kickstarter project called LIFX.

The LIFX is an LED light bulb that has a "brain" that allows one bulb, a "master," to connect with a local Wi-Fi network, as well as to other LIFX bulbs. Bulbs talk to each other via a slightly different protocol than the master bulb to form a mesh network.

Using an app on a smartphone, a person can control either individual lights or a whole room full of them. The light can, its inventors claim, even change color because the LEDs are red, green and blue, with the three combined providing white light and the color change coming from adjusting the relative brightness of the individual LEDs.

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The LIFX inventor, Phil Bosua, has a video on Kickstarter that claims that each bulb uses less than 10 watts of power, and produces as much light as a 60 watt bulb. At $69 -- the pledge amount that gets you one light bulb –- it's competitive with some of the higher-end models of LED bulbs. Even though one can get an LED bulb for about half that, it's also worth noting that the electronics would increase the value.

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The site also says the regular light switches in the house will keep working, so if you lose your phone it won't be as though you've lost control of the lights. It isn't clear whether the switch has to always be on for the LIFX to work, though.

Kickstarter pledges are to help someone complete a project. If the project gets funded -- raising a certain amount of money in a specific time frame -- the money goes to the inventor (or artist, or filmmaker). If not, it goes back to the contributors. Most projects in the arts offer T-shirts and the like as mementoes of contributions. But in the technology section of the site inventors offer a real product.

The goal for the LIFX project was to raise $100,000. So far, it has raised $830,000 as of this writing. The inventors say they have working prototypes and that the money will be used to build LIFX on a larger scale and fund app development. 

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That said, there has been a certain amount of skepticism about whether LIFX can deliver. Over at Reuters, Felix Salmon has noted that it's very, very difficult to get a product to market even when one has millions in backing and a well-thought-out business plan. And there are other Kickstarter projects –- notably an iPad keyboard called the Touchfire that ran into several problems with actual production. The keyboard was successfully funded (a some twenty times what the inventors asked or) in 2011; but many did not ship until just last month.

We'll keep our eye on this project to see if it lights up the LED world.

Credit: Kickstarter

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The Tech In The Times Square Ball

Millions watch the Times Square Ball drop every New Year's Eve. Not many realize just how much that ball has changed since the party started in 1907.

A century ago, the ball was a 5-foot diameter, 700-pound sphere covered in 100 light bulbs and made of wood and iron. At the time, the big ball represented relatively new technology in lighting. But in the 1920s it with one made of iron, and in 1955 it was changed to aluminum. The traditional lights weren’t radically altered until 1995, when a computer was added to control the strobe lights. The only years the ball wasn't lit were 1942 and 1943, when the lights in New York were “dimmed out” during World War II.

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The new one is twice the size –- 12 feet across –- and weighs 11,875 pounds. The roof of the building that houses it has had to be reinforced a few times over the years. Instead of the original 25-watt bulbs used overall, the ball now has light emitting diodes. There are a total of 32,256 LEDs in red, blue, green and white. That allows for all kinds of colors and patterns, and is a lot more energy efficient than the 1907 version. Philips Lighting, the company that makes the LEDs, says the bulbs use 140,000 kilowatt hours of energy, 80 percent less than the old ones, which at up 1.1 million kilowatt-hours.

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The control systems for the ball, from Paderborn, Germany-based e:cue, allow for controlling even single LED, which means that any pixel-based pattern can be created on its surface. The software can render video on the ball, similar to the LED patterns used in the billboards that line the square.

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Then there are the 2,688 Waterford crystal triangles that make up the sphere (a geodesic for the mathematically incline). Waterford has worked four themes into them this year: “Let There Be Love,” “Let There Be Courage,” "Let There Be Joy" and "Let There Be Light." The crystal is designed to stand up to the stresses of temperature (the average is about 33 degrees Fahrenheit on Dec. 31). Unfortunately most people won’t be able to see them from the ground, but one of the bloggers at Dvice posted a nice gallery of close-ups photos.

The ball was modeled after time balls, which are placed on the tops of buildings visible to sailors and dropped at a predetermined time (usually noon or 1 p.m.). Sailors had to keep accurate time to determine longitudes. Adolph Ochs, who had bought the New York Times back in 1896, wanted a suitably large celebration to mark the paper’s new headquarters at One Times Square (which was called Longacre Square before then). So he came up with the ball drop and fireworks show, which continues today.

In 1904, Ochs’ newspaper was the first to receive a wireless dispatch from a reporter (the story was the Russian Fleet’s defeat at the hands of the Japanese). So he’d probably appreciate the fact that his original idea for ringing in the new year has kept up with the latest technology. Raise a glass to him.

Via: Dvice, Times Square Alliance, Philips

Image: Philips Lighting

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Homes Rockin' a Holiday Beat

I can't imagine what it must be like for the people who live next door to this house. Massive amounts of lighting and music! However, it's fun to watch on Youtube. Enjoy.

Other homes decked out in holiday finery include this one, which has a patriotic angle.

And this one, which blinks to the song, Amazing Grace.

 

 

Poo-Powered Glowing Bacteria Light Up the House

The bioluminescence of fireflies and "Red Tide" are arguably two of nature's most beautiful phenomena, leaving us spellbound in a open field or on the shore with our mouths agape. But have you ever considered lighting your home with this kind of light?

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Dutch electronics company Phillips has. In fact, they've created Bio-light, a greener lighting system that's part of their Microbial Home (MH) system. It isn't powered by electricity or sunlight, but by glowing bioluminescent bacteria that thrive on waste generated in the average home.

The bioluminescent bacteria is housed in hand-blown glass cells, clustered together to form a lamp that could easily be displayed in a modern art museum. Each cell is connected to the lamp's reservoir base by thin silicon tubes that pipe methane gas from composted bathroom solids and vegetable scraps via a kitchen dodad that digests bio-waste.

As long as proper nutrients are supplied, the bio-light's living bacteria can be powered indefinitely. Although the light isn't bright enough to fully replace conventional lighting, it does make people conscious of household forms of wasted energy that could be tapped.

Clive van Heerden, Senior Director of Design-led Innovation at Philips Design, says drastic changes are required to reduce our environmental impact and designers must lead the way.

“Designers have an obligation to understand the urgency of the situation, and translate humanity’s needs into solutions," he said, according to Phillips Design's website. "Energy-saving light bulbs will only take us so far. We need to push ourselves to rethink domestic appliances entirely, to rethink how homes consume energy, and how entire communities can pool resources.”

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Phillips envisions their bio-light technology being used on warning strips on curbs and steps, signs in theaters or clubs, and even night-time road markings.

[Via GizMag]

Image Courtesy of Philips

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Inflatable Solar Light is a Major DoGooder

LuminAID: $25.00

Admit it, you take light for granted, most of us do. All we have to do is flip a switch and our little corner of the world is illuminated. Disaster-stricken areas don’t have this luxury and can face days, if not weeks and months without light. The design studio at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Architecture developed the LuminAID solar light to help give this basic need to those who need it most. The solar light uses photovolactic film laminated to PEVA to create a solar panel that can charge in six hours and provide five hours of light. 

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When the light is inflated it diffuses light similar to that of a handheld lantern, it’s also waterproof and can float. This light is ideal for camping or any other outdoor activity, but you know what it’s really good for? Helping people! It can help them see, write, read, cook and live some sort of normal existence in what's definitely a really low time in their lives. For every light sold, one will be sent to a person in a post-natural disaster area, someone who, even if it's just a little while, doesn't have the luxury of complaining about an electricity bill. 

Via: Gizmodo

Credit: LuminAid

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LED Bulb Wirelessly Transmits Audio

MusicLites: $250 SRP per unit

Back in the late 90s, well-respected loudspeaker designer Cary Christie filed a patent for a "speaker light unit connected to [a] conventional electrical light socket." Seven years later, Kadence Designs referenced that patent when filing one for a similar-sounding product. In January 2010, Klipsch announced that product, the LightSpeaker, as "the first product of its kind to combine efficient LED lighting and wireless ambient sound into a single unit that installs like a light bulb." Although it was first to market and went on to win an award at the Consumer Electronics Show, less than two years later the whole LightSpeaker line is listed as discontinued on Klipsch's site. In the meantime, Artison -- which Christie founded in 2003 -- partnered with lighting company Osram Sylvania to create and recently release MusicLites, in some ways a 'newer' and improved take on the speaker-light.

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Equivalent to a 65-watt reflector bulb, 10-watt MusicLites produce 500 lumens for an estimated 25,000 hours under "normal use." They contain a 70mm high-fidelity speaker with a frequency response between 50 Hz and 20 kHz, 25W of RMS power and up to 96 dB of output. Although they pump out good sound for their size, they're mainly meant to add ambient audio, rather than be primary speakers.

Installation is pretty simple: Screw the bulb into any standard light socket (including four-, five- or six-inch recessed lighting cannisters) and turn it on; plug a transmitter into the audio source (via USB, Apple 30-pin dock connector, 3.5mm mini jack or Toslink digital optical input); wait a few seconds for the two to automatically pair on the 2.4GHz wireless bandwidth, then press play and enjoy the tunes.

The handy remote can gradually dim the lights down to 10 percent. It also controls the audio of up to three different sources simultaneously playing throughout a system of five zones each containing twelve MusicLites. That's 60 light bulbs in all -- 61, if you count the one that appeared over your head when you pictured all the places you could put these.

Credit: MusicLites

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Reduce Eye Fatigue by Backlighting Your Monitor

Antec soundscience halo 6 LED bias lighting kit: $12.95

You're dying to find new ways to extend the amount of time you can comfortably sit in front of your computer screen, right? Well, if you're a serious gamer, designer, writer -- pretty much anyone who spends long sessions in front of a monitor -- you're probably aware of how that can pummel your peepers. One of the recommended tips for reducing computer eye strain is to control the screen glare caused by both indoor and outdoor lighting. But sitting in a dark room with just the light of your display isn't very vision-friendly either.

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Antec's soundscience halo 6 LED bias lighting kit is a 15-inch strip of -- you guessed it -- six carefully calibrated lights that you affix to the back of your monitor. Powered by a USB connection, the subtle white backlight not only allows you to comfortably view your screen for extended times in an otherwise darkened environment, but also improves your monitor's perceived contrast ratio. So halo 6 will be a great way to, say, enjoy marathon sessions of the upcoming Halo 4. (No relation.)

Credit: Antec

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Versatile Solar Votive Adds a Touch of Romance

Solar Tea Lantern: $24.99

Catch rays during the day, hang out at night and get lit. That's what Allsop Home and Garden's Solar Tea Lantern does. Just switch on the environmentally friendly votive, leave it in direct sunlight and -- like those solar yard spike-lights -- it continually does its thing. Six to eight hours in the sun will fully (re)charge the already installed 1.2 volt, 40 mAh coin battery and produce about four hours worth of nice outdoor mood lighting. But it works off a partial charge too, for shorter moods.

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The lantern, 6 1/2 inches tall and 5 inches wide, is crafted with hand-blown glass and embedded with white glass and luminescence. Its flattened bottom makes it stable on a table. It's easy to hang or carry. And staircases and gardens also make lovely spots. Wherever you place it, the high-powered "warm white" LED will add a romantic ambience day and night.

Credit: Allsop

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LED Desk Lamp Sports 4-Port USB Hub

SIIG AC-H40112-S1 USB LED Lamp: $19.99

It's a rare computer user indeed who can't use more light and more USB ports, especially when they're on the go. That's just what a handy portable lamp from connectivity provider SIIG now offers. Dubbed the AC-H40112-S1 USB LED Lamp, this affordable little gem can not only be powered via USB, but it sports a four-port USB 2.0 hub as well.

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SIIG's AC-H40112-S1 USB LED Lamp may not have the most memorable name, but what it lacks in the catchiness department it makes up in practical functionality. Its 13-LED lamp boasts an extra-long life of up to 50,000 hours, as well as the green cred that goes along with the associated energy savings. With a multi-directional adjustable metal shaft, the device can be powered either off of a USB cable or using three AAA batteries. Either way, the lamp's high-speed, four-port USB 2.0 hub supports data-transfer rates of up to 480Mb/s, giving users additional options and extra flexibility.

Credit: SIIG

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Tech That Lights Up the Whole Ceiling

Organic light-emitting diodes or OLEDs are a magical kind of LED that can turn all kinds of surfaces into light sources. But to become a household name, they must be cheaper and easier to produce. German scientists have a solution involving laser tech.  

OLEDs are slowly but steadily getting integrated into all kinds of electronics, including ridiculously amazing flexible screens. They're also far more energy-efficient than LCDs. An OLED consists of several layers: an electrode on the bottom, a luminescent layer with organic molecules, and an indium tin oxide layer that conducts electricity to the molecules so they can light up -- the same indium tin oxide often used in solar technology.

All this isn't cheap: An OLED disc three-inches wide can easily cost around $325. The expense comes from the intensive production process, which currently requires attaching a bunch of extra conductor paths to the indium tin oxide layer so that the resulting light is uniform. That uniformity challenge is also why OLEDs tend to be so small at the moment.

Scientists at the Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology in Munich have been working in the lab on a way to make OLEDs cheaper, and larger. They envision getting to a point where we'll have an OLED ceiling that lights up instantly at the flip of a switch. Their technique is, of course, very precise.

The scientists put a kind of "plate" with micrometer slits over the electrode, deposit metal over the plate, and use laser to melt the metal and press it through the little spaces into the electrode. The resulting electrode is covered in very small conductor paths -- far smaller than ones dotting conventional OLEDs.

The laser tech has been demonstrated successfully in the lab so the team plans to work with Philips on introducing the technique in an industrial setting. In the next two or three years, imagine the difference a whole lit ceiling could make in an office, especially if your cubicle isn't remotely close to a window.

Photo: Scientists in Germany have a new technique to produce organic light-emitting diodes efficiently and at a lower cost. Credit: Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology.

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