The Entrepreneurs is an interesting and well-produced podcast from Monocle. Episode 381 from 30 January 2019 contains a great interview with the two founders of Plumen, the startup that introduced decorative CFL lamps in 2010. Plumen was always a bit of … Continue reading plumen: the entrepreneurs podcast
One of the best examples of lighting design at the 2019 Salone del Mobile surprisingly did not come from any of the lighting companies, but from the booth design of Italian architectural surfaces manufacturer Cleaf. Designed by Bestetti Associati, the … Continue reading milan 2019: cleaf booth design
In the Feb/Mar 2019 issue of ARC Magazine, the editorial team asked me and a few other speakers from the Light School sessions at the Surface Design Show to elaborate our opinions on “wellness lighting.” Here was my response: There … Continue reading wellness lighting
I simply LOVE these Pininfarina concept renderings of their new Battista electric super car. A touch ’80s retro, but my eyes just can’t help seeing architectural shapes. I love the subtle graphic patterning of the light, nice inspiration for architectural … Continue reading lush with light
Microsoft has injected new life into its Kinect system, a sophisticated camera vision platform. They’ve shrunk the hardware, improved the specs and now tie it to the Azure computing platform to augment it with a lot of computational horsepower on-demand. … Continue reading microsoft kinect dk
Let’s take a look at lighting and digital media trends in athletic facilities. All of the lighting and signage in a sports facility, from the center line of the court/field/pitch to the ends of the farthest parking lots, have become … Continue reading trends in digital media for athletic facilities
As usual, last week’s Integrated Systems Europe 2019 had some stunning large-scale LED screens on display. For those of you not familiar, these are direct-view LEDs, typically configured on panels that can built up into large-scale, seamless video walls. These … Continue reading ise 2019: the big LED walls
“Data-driven” architectural lighting and digital media? “Ambient communications” for architectural spaces? What does that all mean and how will it drive future concepts of lighting and A/V design? Thanks to everyone who attended my presentation at the #ise2019 Smart Building Conference exploring … Continue reading smart building conference 2019: ambient communications
At the opening keynote of the Integrated Systems Europe 2019 show, we were treated to a presentation from projection mapping artist Bart Kresa. Polish-born and now based in Santa Monica, Kresa showed several projects that were an absolute feast for … Continue reading bart kresa studio
Wiliot is a spin-out tech startup based in San Diego and Israel that has developed a small Bluetooth chip that can power itself by harvesting energy from common wireless signals. The chip can be connected directly to certain types of … Continue reading wiliot
Ledmotive is a Barcelona-based manufacturer of high-color fidelity LED lighting engines and control solutions. Ledmotive offers either 7 or 10 channels of light integrated into their light engines. Plus they complete the system with a nicely conceived spectrometer accessory for … Continue reading ledmotive
I continue to be blown away by the rapid technical advance of large format LED screens. Further proof comes from the visually gorgeous movie “First Man” chronicling the life of test pilot and astronaut Neil Armstrong. Watching the behind-the-scenes featurette, … Continue reading LED screens used in filming “first man”
Any hard-core electrical engineers specialized in LED drivers reading this blog? If so, I would appreciate your input!!!! Until today, we were proudly a 100% LED-illuminated household. Unfortunately, I faced an enemy I could not slay: Two G4/12VAC lamps in … Continue reading defeated by G4 lamps, I retreat from 100% LED
Happy solstice everyone. YEAH! Days only get longer from here on out. The weather will of course get worse, but at least this is darkest part of the year. Literally. Now Amsterdam is not insane like Finland or other places … Continue reading happy solstice
Since I wrote about them nearly 6-years ago, it is nice to see Massachusetts-based JLC-Tech has made good progress in their projects and product lines. As I wrote previously, there is lots of potential for integrating lines of light into … Continue reading t-bar LED lighting – update
We live in a time where many people feel trapped by digital screens. With our mobile devices, every new app fights for a precious slice of our attention bandwidth. Out and about, digital signage screams for our attention in every store, bus … Continue reading wrap your spaces in social media
“Social walls” are an interesting new concept. Content aggregator services pull together data streams from various social media sites like Instagram or Twitter, based on desired hashtags, geo-fencing, or other qualifiers. These content streams can be displayed in a variety … Continue reading social walls
Another interesting proof-point in my prognosis that lighting and ceiling systems are fusing together into new hybrid/embedded systems. XAL launched its Muse product line, which integrates LED office lighting into vertical hanging acoustic baffles. Check out the video below for … Continue reading xal – muse
Boston-based interactive design firm Sosolimited recently installed a public art piece at the Charleston Navy Yard on the tip of Constitution Wharf. According to their press release: ● Custom software collects data in real time from National Oceanic andAtmospheric Administration … Continue reading sosolimited – tidal light
Fanpictor is a Swiss startup that engages mobile devices in unique concepts at large events. It ties mobile devices into large light shows and various other forms of fan engagement and analytics. They apparently use some cool tricks to pull … Continue reading fanpictor
