Mental Canvas is a Yale University spin-out that is launching an innovative hybrid 2D/3D sketching software. They recently went public in a big way being featured as part of Microsoft’s launch of the cool Surface Studio product . I can imagine … Continue reading mental canvas
Schnick Schnack Systems is a Cologne-based manufacturer of professional grade LED components for custom media-wall or embedded lighting installations across a range of applications, including tradeshows, architecture and art pieces. They have some really beautiful project examples on their site. Continue reading schnick schnack systems
Toronto startup Nanoleaf launched a modular, triangulated luminous wall panel system called Aurora. What a fascinating design – ultra thin, RGBW, wifi-connected, with a nicely designed interconnect. It really drives home the amazing innovative potential of embedded lighting – even for … Continue reading nanoleaf aurora
MSTICK is fascinating concept for a portable, battery operated, Bluetooth connected, app-controlled, multi-pixel light wand. The US/Korean based company lists an amazing range of usage concepts for it, from audio visualizer to ambient data (like weather reports) to bike light … Continue reading mstick by molt
My former colleagues at Lam Partners are incorporating some impressive rendering capabilities into their lighting design work flows, using NVIDIA’s Iray rendering software integrated into modeling packages like Rhino and 3Ds. Plus they’ve got some fun new toys like a … Continue reading lam partners and nvidia iray
I just want to say one word to you. Just one word: Plastics! Check out this recent article in Plastic Technology reviewing a host of different plastic technologies that are focused on the needs of the LED lighting market. I … Continue reading plastic tech for LED, 2016
Silvair is a San Francisco-based startup focusing on creating a lighting controls platform around Bluetooth Low Energy technology. The three year old startup just received $12m in Series A funding. Seems competitive to Casambi in many ways. I’m hoping all these … Continue reading silvair
For us lighting nerds, a terrific webinar hosted by the US DOE discussing the state of the actual scientific research on street lighting and sky-glow sources, versus the extreme scare-mongering of recent “scientific” publications: Bruce Kinzey of Pacific Northwest National Laboratory … Continue reading US DOE street lighting “get the facts” webinar
Via Interior Design: A nice example of “embedded lighting” by LA-based Patrick Tighe Architecture and e² Lighting Design. Apparently the lighting engines behind the scenes are by LEDCONN. Continue reading connexion burbank lobbies
The DOE continues their long term accelerated testing of the Philips L-Prize winning bulbs from 2010. The lamps continue to give shockingly good performance, with the average lumen maintenance for the 31 lamps at 93.0%. At that rate, the average operating hours … Continue reading go, baby go: the philips L-prize lamps rock on
UPDATE: MondoARC edited out the “world record” claim. Thanks MondoARC! In a recent post on MondoARC, Pulsar Lighting claimed to have a world record for longest LED installation: The company believes this to be a World first with Pulsar holding … Continue reading the 100,000 hour club
Casambi is 5-year old venture started by two former Nokia employees. Casambi is focused on developing a complete lighting system around the Bluetooth Low Energy techology standard. As they write on their site: Casambi Technologies’ wireless lighting control solution is … Continue reading casambi
I saw a couple beautiful pieces by Amsterdam designer Dirk Vander Kooij at the design shop of the W Hotel Amsterdam. The Fresnel Light and a site-specific reception desk (constructed with the same material) both use large-scale 3D printing to … Continue reading dirk vander kooij
Elon Musk continues to dazzle… Tesla just launched their Solar Roof product line, an amazing example of embedding electronics (in this case solar photovoltaic cells) directly into architectural materials (in this case roofing tiles). Tesla is displaying a fantastic, innovative … Continue reading tesla’s glass/solar electric roof tiles
Today I took the time to explore Dutch Design Week, to tour the immense range of offerings scattered throughout the city of Eindhoven. A dazzling display of aesthetic, technical, and programmatic creativity, DDW showcases top creative talent from across the country, ranging from college kids in design, art, architecture, multimedia and fashion degrees, from individual artists to the powerhouse design brands. Stepping back, there were clear trends. Sustainable thinking was a huge component of the show, with countless examples of innovative uses of alternative natural materials, use of recycled man-made materials, and systemic circular economy product designs tied to innovative … Continue reading the light engine of the future
Philips Lighting announced it is participating in a $7m investment round for PointGrab, an Israeli startup developing “smart-building” sensor technology. I’m reposting their white paper below for posterity: Smarter Sensors: How Deep Learning is Transforming Building Automation Jonathan Laserson, PhD … Continue reading pointgrab
Last year E-Ink released an architectural scale, full color version of its reflective display technology called Prism. And it looks like architectural materials supplier 3-Form will be one of the first to market the Prism technology with a product called Viva. Strangely … Continue reading e-ink prism and 3-form viva
Check out Luminous Patterns at Dutch Design Week! We’ve installed our Light Forest piece, designed with Amsterdam design firm BCXSY, at the fabulous Kazerne restaurant and art gallery. And be sure to attend my seminar titled “Embedded Lighting” on 24-October at … Continue reading philips luminous patterns at dutch design week
At lunch today I walked by a nearby construction site for a new building and noticed something interesting: The contractors were using flexible LED strip lights for their temporary work lighting. They had it strung up and threaded through the scaffolding. How interesting it is to see a leap in technology from blinding high-power, fragile metal halide “cage lights” to flexible, durable cords of light that distribute the illumination far more evenly. I bet they have these strip lights on cord reels just like any other electric extension cord or pneumatic hose. Sorry, no pictures – I didn’t want to be rude … Continue reading LED strip lights on construction sites?
It is so nice to see Philips Lighting finally package together a series of internal sustainability programs and initiatives into one comprehensive presentation to the public. Called “Bright Lives, Better World“, the program addresses a range of issues, such as … Continue reading philips lighting: bright lives, better world program
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