lightaide
Check out this fantastic story about a project from Color Kinetics called the LightAide, a novel device that is being used to help stimulate and educate children with severe sight disabilities. It is being sold through the Perkins School for the Blind. Continue reading lightaide
SSL Ecosystem Conference
I will present a talk on the “The Evolution of Adoption” for LED systems, considering what innovation possibilities lie in the convergence of Connected Lighting, Embedded Lighting, and Sustainable Lighting, at the SSL Ecosystem Conference, September 23, 2014, at the Cambridge … Continue reading SSL Ecosystem Conference
U.S. DOE releases new fact sheet on light + health
Check out the new fact sheet published by the DOE. It helps to clarify and dispel some of the myths surrounding LED lighting and its impacts on health. I think this paragraph is the perfect summary: What may be beneficial for an occupant during the day may be harmful at night, and may vary significantly between individuals in a given space. Complicating things even more is the need to balance the desire for alertness with preservation of normal circadian rhythms among night-shift workers, for example. Therefore, even if a prescription for effective nonvisual stimulation is developed, implementing the solution may … Continue reading U.S. DOE releases new fact sheet on light + health
self assembling robotic lamp
Via DesignBoom: A team of researchers from the wyss institute for biologically inspired engineering at harvard university, have developed a 3D printed robotic lamp capable of self-assembling. Presented at the IEEE international conference on robotics and automation (ICRA), the proof-of-concept lamp can be … Continue reading self assembling robotic lamp
lumilor: paintable light
This is interesting: A company called Darkside Scientific has figured out a way to apply electroluminescent (EL…aka Indiglo) coating via a typical automotive spray paint process. Their product is called Lumilor and they are targeting the custom paint industry for … Continue reading lumilor: paintable light
how to get the party started
How to get the party started? Step 1: Get acquired by Philips Lighting for $735m. Step 2: Quit. Step 3: Launch new startup company apparently just for the hell of it. Ihor Lys, one of the two founders of Color … Continue reading how to get the party started
Rob|Arch – robotic fabrication in art, architecture and design
Historically speaking, architects really gave up the creative power of being “master builders” when “means and methods” was split away from the design side of construction projects and given to the contractors. So it is nice to see architecture students regain … Continue reading Rob|Arch – robotic fabrication in art, architecture and design
U.S. DOE SSL releases 4 SBIR grants
As part of my ongoing effort to track innovative small companies in the lighting world (see this post and this post for some more ventures), here is a release from the U.S. DOE on their latest Small Business Innovation Research grants: Four SBIR Grants Awarded for SSL Technology (FY14 Release 2 Phase I) The U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science has awarded four Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grants targeting advances in solid-state lighting (SSL) technology. The FY14 Release 2 Phase I awards will explore the technical merit or feasibility of an innovative concept or technology. The SBIR and … Continue reading U.S. DOE SSL releases 4 SBIR grants
project haystack
Perhaps some digital “glue” to hold the building automation world together? Check out Project Haystack. Most of this site is for software programmers (and beyond me) but it fits nicely with my concept that the next evolution of lighting will be enabled by smart new industry standards that will drive innovation by connecting dynamic lighting systems with architects and contractors (via BIM), and the lighting specification community (via enhanced lighting system simulations). Project Haystack is an open source initiative to develop tagging conventions and taxonomies for building equipment and operational data. We define standardized data models for sites, equipment, and points related … Continue reading project haystack
how to build a circular economy
Nice article in Fast Company introducing the principles of Circular Economy strategies, mostly taken from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation. A circular economy is one where goods are restored and regenerated more widely, moving from a system of virgin inputs and piles of waste to one that returns used products to a useful state. It is also an economy that minimizes resource use by moving away from individual ownership towards more leasing, renting, and sharing. The aim is to cut environmental damage and allow companies to keep control of the value in their products. Continue reading how to build a circular economy
U.S. DOE includes sustainability in R+D roadmap
There is far more to sustainability in lighting technology then merely reducing energy consumption — so I’m thrilled to see that the U.S. Department of Energy’s Solid-State Lighting group has included a new section exploring the broader topic of sustainability in … Continue reading U.S. DOE includes sustainability in R+D roadmap
light + building 2014: zumtobel
And now…a special presentation for a friend of mine who has a new interest in all things Zumtobel: A few pictures that I snapped of the Austrians’ booth at Light + Building. Congratulations! Continue reading light + building 2014: zumtobel
light + building 2014: building controls and visualization
The past year I spoke at several events about how smart industry standards are needed to open up second-level innovations in the lighting industry that are hard for many industry insiders to appreciate. Specifically, communication and data standards for lighting … Continue reading light + building 2014: building controls and visualization
arch daily: richard kelly
Thomas Schielke published a nice piece on Arch Daily summarizing Richard Kelly. Go check it out… Continue reading arch daily: richard kelly
light + building 2014: camera-based occupancy sensors
Both Panasonic/VS and Toshiba demonstrated technical concepts for using cameras for advanced, precision occupancy sensing. Such occupancy sensing brings to life more dynamic, personalized control possibilities, including even the possibility of gesture recognition in the future. Right now, these … Continue reading light + building 2014: camera-based occupancy sensors
light + building 2014: direct LED backlighting
Both Samsung and LG demoed some interesting OEM components taken straight from the display divisions: LED boards with unique flattened optics for back-lighting a diffusion surface. Here’s from Samsung: Here’s from LG: Continue reading light + building 2014: direct LED backlighting
light + building 2014: LG
LG, through both its LG Innotek and LG Chem groups, seems to be investing rather heavily in design — and it is starting to show off in their lighting offerings. Although it all feels like LG is merely “testing the … Continue reading light + building 2014: LG
light + building 2014: tunto
I can’t possibly chronicle all the gorgeous design in the decorative halls at L+B, but one company especially caught my eye (again…I noticed them last L+B, too): Tunto, a Finnish lighting manufacturer that discretely integrates LED lighting into beautiful plywood … Continue reading light + building 2014: tunto
light + building 2014: flex-tape
An interesting trend in lighting tech right now is the growing use of flexible circuit boards for lighting — commonly called “flex-tape”. Think of this as the high-quality evolution of ye-olde LED rope light. Lots of suppliers showed flex-tape components … Continue reading light + building 2014: flex-tape
craig dorety: division
Via Cool Hunting: Beautiful light art by artist Craig Dorety that reminds me a great deal of the James Turrell installation at the Guggenheim — but at a different scale. Continue reading craig dorety: division
Lucept 