Beam is a Kickstarter project that integrates an LED pico projector, Android device, LED light (and presumably a AC/DC power supply) into a housing with an E26/27 socket.

I like the concept because it supports my view that light sources are becoming “intelligent” in more ways than just pumping out “dumb” lumens.  An IP connected light source can deliver whatever resolution of content is needed, from a single white-light “pixel” to HD video.  There are projects that have alluded to the power of projection in alternative uses, like the Google Smart Lamp or the Room-E concept, and of course Hiroshi Iishi’s Tangible Media Group at MIT’s Media Lab has done lots of crazy stuff with projection.

In my short stint at Micron in 2010, they had a pico-projector business venture and asked me for alternate uses of projectors.  A pendant lighting fixture with built in projection was an obvious use, for restaurant applications to project onto the table.  But Micron’s LED team and pico-projection teams were vaporized.

I’m hoping the Beam team can survive launch and work on miniaturizing their product — at least to the size of a PAR38.  That would open up far more retrofit opportunities then their painfully large first unit.