There are few inventions more iconic than the
light bulb. We use it every day, for anything you can think of: lighting our
homes, driving safely at night, and even in scientific research. Electric lighting
is woven into the fabric of our civilization and has been for some time. It’s
hard to imagine where we would even be today without it! Since its creation,
the stream of mind-boggling advancements in lighting technology has been almost
non-stop, and new ways to think about lighting are in high demand now more than
ever.
This year in particular, there’s been a
massive increase in the number of talented and energetic companies pouring
mountains of time and resources into creating light fixtures that change the
way we live. These innovations are each trying to become as ubiquitous as the
any other household object, such as a broom or a coffee table. Smart lighting
tech innovations are making that possible for a larger audience constantly.
In this list, we’ll give you a quick recap of
the most sensational lighting inventions to spring up recently. What you find
in this list may give you new insight into the trajectory of the tech industry
as a whole, as well as a glimpse into the future of interior lighting.
Cuboid
Lighting
Let’s face it: Lamps are becoming a thing of
the past. Moveable lighting fixtures are still an essential part of any
household, but the days of dusty beige lamp covers are quickly becoming
synonymous with the previous century. A new wave of lighting designs have come
to take their place.
Qube’s eponymous product integrates smart
technology and elegant minimalism to form an abstraction to the lamps of old. A
host of smartphone-like features are changing desktop lighting from a lightbulb
on a stick to a sophisticated computer.
It’s not hard to imagine that soon these
cuboid lights may serve the same purpose as our desktop computers! Indeed, the
Tittle is another cube light that functions more as a thinking decoration than
a normal light, due to its focus on home entertainment. Using a 3-dimensional
array of LEDs, this light can function as a fascinating display.
Smart
Christmas Lights
One fixture of the american household that
seems immovable over time are Christmas tree lights. For as long as Christmas
has been represented in pop culture, trees have always been portrayed with a
wiry string of tiny bulbs wrapped around it like a sparkly python.
To shake this tradition up, one company has
recently introduced the smart Christmas tree lights. Connected via bluetooth,
the string of lights can synch up to your smartphone. An app allows you to
change their color at your leisure, play sound effects, and even play music.
Those lights can then synchronize with the beat of the music, creating a
dynamic and never-before-seen christmas lighting experience.
Work
Lights
The University of British Columbia’s recent article
about the introduction of automatic “busy” lights to workplaces has drawn
attention to the newest phenomenon in smart lighting: Its use during work.
Our interest in smart lighting is often
centered around home use, but there are very practical applications for it in
other fields. Take the colloquially named “Red Light, Green Light,” for
example. The light is an invention of the UBC, and works, in their own words,
like a “Skype status.” It receives a signal from your mouse and keyboard,
switching between green and red depending on if you are available for a chat
with coworkers or not.
Productivity has seen an increase at the
university as a result of this invention. The automatic nature of the light
removes the process of workers putting markers on their desks to indicate if
they don’t wish to be disturbed, which ends up saving even more valuable work
time in the process.
Natural
Wake-up Bulbs
Light bulbs have a major impact on our
sleeping patterns. The right kind of lightbulb and smart lighting
setup can mean the difference between poor sleep and restful slumber. Getting a
healthy, restful sleep is hard. Having a relaxing wake-up is even harder. We’ve
all experienced the jarring sensation of being woken up by a loud alarm, but
what if there was a better way? Many companies are working tirelessly to create
smart lights that recreate the sensation of waking up naturally.
Mainly this is accomplished by gradually
increasing the amount of light emitted by the light fixture, similar to how the
sun’s rays will seem gradually brighter as time passes in the morning. Using
this method of gradient lighting, getting up at 5:00 AM can feel as natural as
waking up to a morning sunrise.
Fog
Light Screens
Though this phenomenon hasn’t quite made it
into the hands of the average consumer yet, fog screens are fast becoming an
incredible technological breakthrough. To achieve the 3-dimensional effect that
this technology is known for, large machines have to be built that billow out
semi-transparent gas. That gas is then projected onto with some type of light
display.
The moving parts of the machine allow for the
changing of the fog screen’s position, contouring, and opacity. Think of it as
a projector that can dynamically change shape, display information, and even
respond to input. The scientific applications of using a surface with depth to
portray data is still being considered, so this invention is just around the
corner from being the next big tech lighting innovation.
As for home use, it’s interesting to think
about how this could be put to use in our day-to-day lives. I’m sure you’ve had
a day where you had something important to do, only to have the reminder
scrawled on a piece of forgotten, crumpled paper somewhere. It would certainly
be much easier to remember your grocery list if it was a ten-foot wall of fog
projected onto in front of your bed. A silly concept perhaps, but you can
easily surmise how that tech might be put to use in a way that could even
replace standard monitors or televisions in the home.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Author
Bio:
Carolyn Clarke is a freelance writer based in
Southern California who has been writing about technology’s influence on our
everyday life for nearly 10 years. She has served as a consultant for small
businesses, including Atlanta Light Bulbs and WattBoys.
0 comments:
Post a Comment