more robotic desk lamps!
Via Core77 – two more robotic desklamps! We’ve seen robotic desk lamps before (check out this post or this post) and I promise…someday, I’m totally going to build myself a robotic desk lamp!!!! I’m thinking maybe two — a boy robot desklamp on one side … Continue reading more robotic desk lamps!
FINsix
I continue to be fascinated by a small MIT tech startup called FINsix, which I wrote about previously here and here. Looks like they had a sort of “coming out” party at CES in Las Vegas, demonstrating their incredibly tiny … Continue reading FINsix
transphorm – GaN power electronics
I just found an interesting 2011 article from MIT’s Technology Review : A startup called Transphorm is using GaN power electronics to substantially reduce power converter sizes. The possibility of using gallium nitride in power electronics has been known for decades, but producing high-quality versions of the material has been a challenge. That problem, however, was largely solved by researchers who figured out how to use gallium nitride in LEDs, Mishra says. Transphorm has optimized the material for power electronics, and it has developed novel devices (such as transistors), circuits, and complete modules that include all the components needed to … Continue reading transphorm – GaN power electronics
philips horticulture lighting
If you’ve ever taken the Thalys high speed train from Amsterdam to Paris, then you’ve probably seen the massive greenhouses stretching out to the horizon as far as the eye can see. These are not just simple greenhouses or indoor farms: Think … Continue reading philips horticulture lighting
ninebyfour by waarmakers
Ninebyfour is a beautiful, elegantly minimal linear pendant design that uses a unique material source: Felled urban trees gathered from within the city of Amsterdam . Designed by local design shop Waarmakers — they’ve tracked the location of where the tree originally … Continue reading ninebyfour by waarmakers
dropshades
Via Gizmodo: DropShades — Glasses with bands of music-reactive LED lighting. There is no practical reason for these to exist whatsoever, but if you’re desperate for a gift for someone you know who is a total lighting dork, you could do worse… Continue reading dropshades
jbl pulse
Audio gear manufacturer JBL recently released a portable Bluetooth speaker called JBL Pulse with built-in LED lighting effects. Looks a little small for the lighting effect, but of course it is meant to be portable. An interesting mix of audio, … Continue reading jbl pulse
tangeez
Via Cool Hunting — A cool Kickstarter campaign led by two Brooklyn-based creatives to develop glowing, interactive building blocks for children (it was successfully funded back in October). Very cool. I especially love the physical color mixing. According to the Tangeez site: … Continue reading tangeez
emerging tech roundup
About a year and half ago I posted a brief roundup of emerging lighting tech companies. Here we go again… I recently received the conference program for the upcoming 2014 Strategies in Light, to be held this February in Silicon Valley. SIL is a fantastic conference that really focuses on cutting edge tech for the lighting industry…a brewing pot of R+D and investors (I spoke at both the 2013 SIL conference in Silicon Valley and the 2013 SIL Europe conference in Munich). In flipping through the program, I saw a few interesting tech companies that I would like to point … Continue reading emerging tech roundup
room-e
Via a survey article from Gizmodo, here is a very interesting demo from the design firm Frog, showcasing some interesting UX simplifications that result from networking all the sensing (3D stereo vision cameras, microphones, etc.), displays (including ambient projections), devices … Continue reading room-e
la case de cousin paul
During our trip to Barcelona back in October, we came across a neat little shop called La Case de cousin Paul that sells a beautiful little collection of spun globes. Available in a riot of colors, sizes, and combinations, what … Continue reading la case de cousin paul
An Architect of Light: Louis Kahn
A great post gathering some of Louis Kahn’s quotes regarding light. Continue reading An Architect of Light: Louis Kahn
lighting control for dummies
Wireless , preset scene, Zigbee, blah, blah, blah??? Try this for the ultimate easy to use control system…as seen at Bosco, a cool local little bar in Amsterdam. Continue reading lighting control for dummies
goldee
Goldee is a crowdfunding project trying to launch a wall-mounted light controller that uses Zigbee communications to control “smart” lights like the Philips Hue. The references to Nest seem appropo, as Goldee includes proximity sensors, light sensors, gesture control, and … Continue reading goldee
united nation’s StEP initiative
The United Nations has a very interesting program in place to tackle the global problem of electronic waste, called “StEP: Solving the E-waste Problem.” A great site, I’ve barely scratched the surface of the content and countless projects identified here. … Continue reading united nation’s StEP initiative
LEDs Magazine: OP-ED regarding investment in sustainability
Updated: Here is the link to the online article. LEDs Magazine has just published an opinion piece I authored urging the U.S. DOE and other groups to invest in R+D focused on Circular Economy strategies for the lighting industry. Follow … Continue reading LEDs Magazine: OP-ED regarding investment in sustainability
the connected lighting alliance
A group of lighting companies recently formed a new non-profit open industry group, called The Connected Lighting Alliance, that aims to standardize and promote wireless lighting control communications. The inital members include GE, Lutron, Philips, OSRAM, Pansonic, Toshiba, etc. Their … Continue reading the connected lighting alliance
edison report: SIL Europe – the paradox of standardization
The folks at the Edison Report Europe have summarized the presentations at last week’s Strategies in Light Europe event in Munich, including a tidy summary of my presentation “The Paradox of Standardization“: Brad Koerner (Philips) gave an overview of the present design practices and tools in architectural lighting. He made a plea to provide information on SSL lamps-luminaires and modules in a way that it can be directly imported in the software tools used by lighting designers and architects. He showed an interesting example of so-called on site manufacturing of luminaires using Zhaga compliant SSL modules where the luminaire was basically … Continue reading edison report: SIL Europe – the paradox of standardization
t-ink
T-Ink is a New York City startup that specializes in conductive inks. According to their description: T-INK, Inc. is a privately held innovative technology company that utilizes proprietary “thinking inks” to enhance products through the creation of unlimited applications in … Continue reading t-ink
DuPont conductive ink for printed electronics
At the expo floor for Strategies in Light Europe, I met representatives from DuPont that were showcasing DuPont’s innovations in conductive ink for printed and flexible electronics. Some really amazing stuff they were showing, including conductive inks in silver, copper, … Continue reading DuPont conductive ink for printed electronics
Lucept 