Apr 22
Sengled has unveiled its new green LED lighting solution called Pulse that also happens to have a wireless speaker inside. The Pulse intelligent bulb has JBL multi-channel stereo wireless speakers … Continue reading
Apr 18
As we move more and more towards a paradigm shift in thinking, having a concern for the environment so that the next generation will have a place to live on earth, new advancements have been made to be more power efficient while lowering wastage. Take the Solar Impulse 2 for example – this solar-powered plane intends to circumnavigate the globe on solar power alone! It looks like Jersey’s street lighting bill is going to get cut in half thanks to revitalized lamps that see action in St Helier’s Liberation Square. These lamps have been fitted with light-emitting diodes, or LEDs in short, that will consume just 33% of the energy of conventional bulbs, and apart from saving the local authorities money in terms of its electricity bill, it could also help improve road safety thanks to its brightness level.
According to Jersey transport officials, such technology will be rolled out across all main island roads as long as budgets permit. As for the lights at Liberation Square, these will be dimmed between midnight and 6am. Bob Baudains, a street works manager at Transport and Technical Services, did share that such LEDs are capable of lasting up to a 100,000 hours “without significant maintenance”, hence making our streets safer and more appealing to walk/travel along.
New LED Lamps Could Help Save Money, Improve Safety , original content from Ubergizmo, Filed in Green, led,
Apr 14
When I was growing up, one of my favorite toys was the good old Lite Brite. I’m guessing that it was an indication that I would later find myself hopelessly addicted to pixel art. Now, technologists are working on tiny robots which can create Lite Brite style art all on their own.
Created by Disney Research and the Autonomous Systems Lab, ETH Zurich, PixelBots are round, palm-sized robots which have a LEDs inside of them, and a drive mechanism on their bottoms. An overhead camera tracks the positions of each robot and a computer controls each robot remotely. They’re designed to be able to swarm together to create rudimentary images composed of dots.
Currently, the robots can replicate images drawn on a tablet, and the can also change between images using gesture controls. They can also automatically recover their position if a user picks one up and moves it out of place.
One other neat thing is that their wheels are actually magnetic, so they could not only be used on tabletops, but they could stick to whiteboards too. While I’m not sure there are too many practical application for PixelBots, they sure look like fun, and I’d certainly love to have a fleet of them at my command.
You can read more about how PixelBots work in the research paper Image and Animation Display with Multiple Mobile Robots.
Apr 10
Make your clothes stand out with these LED-equipped and 3D printed buttons. Electronics shop Adafruit shared this project last January to help keep folks visible in snowy winter nights, but unless it’s always bright and sunny where you are then you’ll still find a use for these buttons.
Aside from the 3D printed button cases, the main components of this device are the GEMMA electronic board and the Flora NeoPixel RGB LEDs. Watch the video to find out how to put them together.
As always you can find instructions and links to all components on Adafruit’s website. I’m sure you can make the electronics fit in other 3D printed cases, like a replica of Iron Man’s arc reactor.
Image by Noe & Pedro Ruiz
Apr 05
Carolina Ferrari, Ilaria Vitali and Mengdi Xu designed Diffuse, a lamp designed to make laptop screens easy on the eyes in two ways. Diffuse can provide complementary ambient light or it can compensate for a dark environment with a soft white light. It’s Ambilight and F.lux in one.
Diffuse consists of a felt diffuser and a wooden box containing its electronics, which are mainly an Arduino Uno, two RGB LED strips and a light sensor. The box also houses a 12v rechargeable battery and a switch between the “Eye Pleasure” and “Eye Relief” modes. The felt diffuser attaches to the box via two magnets.
To use Diffuse, you just connect it to your laptop via its USB cable, turn it on and select which mode you want to use. In Eye Relief mode, Diffuse’s light sensor will analyze the brightness of the area immediately behind your screen. The lamp’s LEDs will then emit a white light to balance the brightness of your screen and your surroundings. To use Eye Pleasure mode you also need to install an application on your laptop. The application will read the average color of your screen in real time and relay it to Diffuse, which will then match the given color.
Sit back, relax and check out the Diffuse Team’s website for more on the lamp.
Mar 31
It doesn’t matter if you are a celebrity who is being stalked by the paparazzi, or you continuously feel like Big Brother is watching, or maybe you just hate having your picture taken. We found the perfect thing for you.
The Justice Cap looks like a normal baseball cap. The major difference is there is a built in set of high powered LED lights along the rim of the visor. These lights make it difficult for most cameras to capture your face in a video or on a digital camera. Used it at night and this hat works perfectly to black out your face. During the daylight hours, however, it will only be able to hide part of your face.
Watch their YouTube video to get an idea of the capabilities of this simple yet perfect way to hide your identity.
Mar 31
Philips Clear LED bulb goes retro
Posted in: Today's ChiliLED bulbs are already more efficient than their incandescent forebears, more flexible, and longer running, but is the absence of that familiar old clear design still holding them back? Philips … Continue reading
Mar 30
If you have a thing about people taking your picture – whether it’s discretely or with your knowledge – then you might want to get one of these Justice Caps.
They look like your average ball cap, except for the fact that they’ve got a strip of high-powered LEDs on the visor. And it’s this strip of LEDs that makes all the difference, as they virtually black out your face from digital cameras and facial recognition systems. They work best in low-level lighting environments, such as when you’re in a club or outdoors when it’s dark out. That said, they won’t do much for you in broad daylight, although they may still conceal part of your face.
The Justice Cap is available online for $14.99(USD).
[via Red Ferret]
Mar 28
Philips Hue Expands Line with Hue Lux, Tap Wireless Switch and 3D-Printed Luminaires
Posted in: Today's ChiliPhilips today announced that it is adding yet more products to its popular Hue line of wireless-controlled LED lamps. Three new products were introduced, including a less expensive white-only bulb, a wireless switch, and a line of 3D-printed lighting fixtures.
The Hue Lux works just like other Hue LED bulbs, but it only outputs pure white light. This allows you to add more remote-controlled bulbs to your network in rooms that just don’t need mood lighting. Philips hasn’t mentioned what color temperature the bulb will output, but I’m assuming it will be pleasing to the eye based on Philips’ other LED bulb products.
The Lux bulb is also $20 cheaper than the standard Hue bulb, selling for $39.95(USD). A starter kit will also be available with two Hue Lux bulbs and a Hue Bridge for $99.95. The Hue Lux will ship sometime “after Summer 2014.”
The Hue Tap is perfect for those times that you don’t have your smartphone readily available, or if you want family or guests to be able to control the lights. The small switch can be wall mounted, and lets you turn lights on and off, and can store preset scenes from the Hue app as well.
While you can currently approximate similar functionality by purchasing a LivingColors lamp and reprogramming its remote like I’ve done, it’s nice that Philips is finally addressing this need with a dedicated product. Incredibly, the Tap’s switch requires no batteries, it gets all the power it needs from the kinetic energy captured from your finger taps. Hue Tap will also be available later this year for $59.95.
Perhaps the most interesting addition to the line-up are the new 3D-printed luminaires. These dramatic lighting fixtures were created in collaboration with the design teams of WertelOberfell and Strand+Hvass, and they are in a word – stunning. The lamps offer the full wireless control found in Hue bulbs, casting colorful shadows through their complex geometric structures.
Unfortunately, the 3D-printed luminaires are extremely expensive, with the pendants going for €2,999 (~$4113 USD) and the table lamps going for €2,499 (~$3427 USD). Philips will be taking pre-orders for the lamps starting on March 31.
Mar 27
Philips’ hue lighting system is gaining two new components, a hue lux remote-control white bulb, and hue tap, a wireless wall switch for easy control that demands no batteries or … Continue reading
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