Category: Lighting

Categories
Lighting

Helium smart light uses machine learning to light up the home

Smart lights are undoubtedly cool. What’s not is the time spent digging through a light’s companion app for just the right setting, or having an assistant like Siri or Amazon’s Echo misunderstand a user’s command to turn one on or off. The Helium machine learning smart light is trying to get rid of the fuss for a smoother smart light experience.

Helium is three things in one: A machine learning connected light bulb, a night shift feature light, and a Wi-Fi extender. Its machine learning capabilities take into account time, location, weather, proximity and behavior to make it context aware. This results in lights turning on by themselves when entering a room, for example, and shifting to a bright white light during work hours for increased productivity or a warm white light right before bed for to better adhere to the body’s internal rhythms.

Continue reading “Helium smart light uses machine learning to light up the home”
Categories
Connected Objects Lighting Music

Riflo connected LED lights up your abode with glorified notifications

We’re not quite at the point of questioning’s someone’s grasp of reality if their lights aren’t connected to the Internet. But while most would immediately point to the Philips Hue as the de facto connected light bulb for the technologically savvy dweller, the Riflo’s Indiegogo campaign presents an alternative.

While the Hue’s array of color options and scenes are all the rage, the Riflo programmable smart color LED expands on these features by adding a Wi-Fi connected speaker to the mix. This speaker can do things like audibly communicate information pertinent to the user (e.g. “You have a meeting in an hour,” “You have a new email.”) or stream music with or without a companion streaming app. Or, it’s Wink feature uses the colorful LED to silently communicate what needs to be known without a possibly annoying robo-voice droning on about it.

Continue reading “Riflo connected LED lights up your abode with glorified notifications”
Categories
Lighting Smart Home

Deter dodgy types from the home with the ComfyLight system

While traditional home security systems are no doubt comprehensive, they only really serve to alert homeowners and authorities after a home is compromised. What good is a security system if it doesn’t actually prevent intrusion and burglary in the first place?

The team behind the ComfyLight connected light bulb design it to address this failing. Embedded with Wi-Fi connectivity and motion sensors allows the ComfyLight to automatically turn on and off when entering or exiting a room. Over time, it learns a homeowner’s patterns to replicate when they’re out for the night, for example, to deter would-be burglars.

Continue reading “Deter dodgy types from the home with the ComfyLight system”
Categories
Lighting

Rambling hipsters can now find solace by the soft light of the Tack lamp

Nomadic urbanites have to think carefully about what belongings they drag from apartment to apartment. Matt Lim’s Tack tries to make it so that the awkwardly sized lamp needed to read, work or relax by isn’t the first thing sacrificed before a move.

Tack users have the choice of attaching its main body to the wall using a magnetic strip, with the option to move it in a variety of different positions depending on the amount of light needed. Or the water bottle-sized lamp can live off the wall and function as a standalone, portable light for different rooms.

Continue reading “Rambling hipsters can now find solace by the soft light of the Tack lamp”
Categories
Lighting Television

AmbiScreen lights up the backs of your screens and more

Ambient TV backlighting technology has so far failed to find a major audience in the U.S. despite several attempts by companies including Philips and its Ambilight. More recently, the makers of Project-Pyxis failed to reach their funding goals for that device.

AmbiScree is a new, LED-based backlighting device with somewhat more ambitious functionality than some prior products. It is controlled wirelessly via iOS (and later Android) mobile devices, and provides ambient lighting for TVs or any other display, as well as videogame consoles and any other device in the home, according to its Indiegogo campaign. AmbiScreen can also be used as an autonomous mood light system. So, in addition to creating light behind a TV, it can also be used to create ambient lighting in bathrooms and other rooms.

Continue reading “AmbiScreen lights up the backs of your screens and more”
Categories
Lighting Television

Pyxis makers want you to pick this for ambient TV backlighting

Ambient TV backlighting technology has been around for several years now, but no consumer product using it has made significant headway in the U.S. yet. Philips came closest with Ambilight, but the company is no longer marketing that (or any other TV products in North American anymore).

Project-Pyxis is a standalone HDMI ambient backlighting device for TVs that illuminates the wall behind a TV with the same colors displayed on the TV screen in real time. The small set-top device interacts with the image being displayed on the screen by using the HDMI signal to sample the edges of the screen to compute LED color values. It works in conjunction with an LED strip that the Pyxis makers say is packed with lighting and all the necessary cabling. It is shipping in May at $200. The Kickstarter goal is to raise $86,000 by Nov. 16.

While Ambilight was marketed as enhancing any video, it was mostly appreciated by gamers. Game accessory maker Mad Catz Interactive has already been fielding such a product as part of a licensing pact with U.K. company amBX, whose technology was originally developed within Philips Research Laboratories. The main selling point of Pyxis is that it doesn’t require any additional devices, such as a PC. Pyxis works straight out of the box in less than five minutes, according to its campaign.

 

Categories
Lighting

Luminoodle sees the lights, strings them up

After a slow ramp, LEDs have been taking over more and more lighting needs. They’ve shown up in light bulbs, flashlights, lanterns, desk lamps and even the running lights on cars. On addition to their low energy consumption, their small size allows them to be shaped in many granular configurations.

Luminoodle takes advantage of this by stringing together LEDs in a waterproof rope-like enclosure that includes a number of ways to connect to various surfaces, including loops and magnets. In addition, the whole thing can be coiled up in a bag and used as a lantern. The standard product measures five feet long, but also comes in an XL version twice that length.

Continue reading “Luminoodle sees the lights, strings them up”
Categories
Lighting

SpellBrite helps you let others see the signs wherever you go

Neon’s look draws people in with the mood it creates and the impact it has. But neon signs are pricey and require a significant amout of power. Plus, once they burn out, they’re complicated to repair.

SpellBrite is an alternative to neon that offers several advantages. The products glow in a manner similar to neon lights, but they use LEDs so they are far more cost-efficient and energy-efficient. The signs are also easy to create and customize as they rely on standard letters that snap together and are secured with simple screws. While a full character set is available, though, there’s only one font and one color available though the latter seems like it could be easy to change  with different colored ovelays.

Continue reading “SpellBrite helps you let others see the signs wherever you go”
Categories
Features Lighting

Out There: Slap It butt light lets you get a piece of that double without any trouble

Out There is a feature that highlights weird, wacky or woeful projects.

So many people see a big jiggly butt and just can’t help but slap it! It’s human nature. Unfortunately, society discourages this type of behavior citing “personal space” as something that must be respected.

Now, the wet blanket of society can suck it! Slap It is a light shaped like a butt. Mount it on the wall, step back, and marvel at its beauty. It’s made from some mystery material that produces a life-like jiggle. To turn on, simply, slap, squeeze or grab. The light comes in ten different colors and a dial lets the user choose which one they’d like to see.

This British-made product will surely find success donning the sound studios of many butt-obsessed rappers. Other than that, it’s actually not a particularly shapely or alluring butt. Still, backers can get their slap on for a donation of £195 (~$295) with estimated delivery set for June 2015. Slap It is hoping to raise £58,000 (~$87,800) in funding on Kickstarter.

Categories
Lighting Smart Home

Want to add smarts to light switches without replacing? Switchmate has them covered

editors-choiceControlling home lighting via a smartphone app can come in handy. But all too often setting up such systems can be overly complicated.

Switchmate does away with all of that complexity. It consists of a white cover that easily snaps over a standard light switch using magnets. It gets paired via Bluetooth with an Android or iOS app and the user can then easily take control of the switch via their smartphone. In a nice touch, the app can control multiple Switchmates. Notably, users can see the status of their lights within a Bluetooth range of about 150 feet. Each Switchmate will cost $60 and is scheduled to begin shipping in December. Its maker set an Indiegogo campaign goal of raising $50,000 by April 1.

Switchmate holds a great deal of promise if truly is compatible with any standard light switch and if the setup process is as easy as the campaign advertises. The device takes the ease of Emberlight one step further insofar as it attaches to a light switch instead of a light fixture itself, thereby eliminating the need to have a ladder or really tall person nearby.