There are plenty of different kinds of lights to illuminate your home or office with, but I’ve never seen anything quite as interesting as these lights. They almost look like neon tubes, but the designers say that they can be used to light up ceilings, walls, floors, and just about anything else.
The Atomic Clear Tubing system was developed by Polish design group Em and Es, and allows people to experiment with the modular design. They can be positioned horizontally and vertically, and are available in modules of 18″, 26″, and 35″, which can work as single units or be joined together. The fittings can be coated in a number of different colors.
The system also promises to eliminate problems with cables and wires, building the power circuitry into each section.
It’s safe to say that the future will be here any day now, specifically the future from Back to the Future Part II. We’re still working on our hoverboard and levitating DeLorean technologies. Now, Toronto-based designer Ryan Taylor has developed the forerunner of the Garden Center fruit dispenser. More »
Audi makes some pretty sleek cars, and their designs are often cutting edge, especially when you check out their new ideas about lighting technology. I’ll admit that most cars that I’ve had needed better lighting, especially when you’re driving along dark country roads, far away from the freeway.
Audi is thinking about doing away with traditional taillights and replacing them with form-fitting OLED lights instead.
These cool looking organic lights would cover the entire width of the trunk, and potentially cover the entire body of the vehicle. The lights will swarm as the car accelerates, and the red lights will flow towards the direction in which the car is turning. Using the brake causes the lights to gather in pools.
This seems like a smart idea, but I can already imagine the costs of replacing the lights if someone rear-ends you. Also, I think it will take some time before this kind of display becomes legal. It could definitely be seen as a distraction to other drivers if not executed properly.
This morning we’re getting in down and dirty with such a variety of technological breakthroughs your brain is going to flip. Start your mind-blowing off right with an announcement of the official Google Glass Explorer Edition coming to developers “in a couple of months.” Next be sure to see Audi’s own super strange Swarm lighting for their futuristic cars of tomorrow. Amazon has brought forth in-app purchases for all manner of software – Mac, PC, and web games included.
Over at Intel you’ll find a new batch of budget-friendly Ivy Bridge processors from all angles. The group known as Kantar World Panel has made it clear that the 2012 Q4 smartphone champion is the iPhone by a giant margin as Android appears to gain a lot of deserters – strange way to put it! AT&T has made an announcement that they’ll be bringing on a full purchase of Alltel for a cool $780 million USD.
Those of you in love with HTC’s user interface for smartphones will be glad to see Sense 5 leaking in full with a lovely aesthetic that’s utterly pared-back compared to past iterations. Verizon has announced a hearty Q4 2012 loss and blamed it on Hurricane Sandy as well as pension costs. It’s time for Firefox OS to hit the smartphone universe with a couple of developer smartphones you’re going to Orange. I mean love!
MySpace’s relaunch is in a bit of trouble – maybe – as they’ve been accused of using music that may not be theirs – dear, oh dear. Paypal has announced that they’re making a full overhaul a reality in the coming months. The folks at MSI have announced a budget tablet with the name Enjoy 71 for the masses, and SteelSeries has unveiled their newest gaming keyboard with aspirations for colorful game-on action.
One of the lesser-seen concepts that appeared earlier this year down deep in the Audi stand at CES 2013 was this magical bit of conceptual madness: the Swarm tail-light. This light recalls (as the title of this post implies) the fantastical visions of the brightly-lit future of the Speed Racer movie from the Wachowski tag team of excellence back a few years ago – complete with wild color combinations. What we’re not sure of at the moment is if this greatness will inspire better driving or more distracted crash-ready action.
The lights move forth and faster as the car accelerates, this creating a more “swarm” fabulous effect as you reach top speed. Instead of hitting the turn bar in your car, the swarm moves forth to the left or the right according to where your wheels are aiming – in other words, if you’re leaning toward turning to the right, there’ll be more lovely lights on the right side of the back of your vehicle. If you’re veering left, there wont be any lights on the right.
At the moment, as AutoBlog.GR mentions, this tech has been assuredly NOT been prepped for any vehicles that are going to be market ready any time soon. It’s not that we’ll never ever see such a bit of tech in the future no matter what, but we’re not going to need to be worrying about tuning our eyes for swarming lights next year, certainly. Not on the road, anyway.
Let us know if you’re hoping for such a technology in your vehicle in the future – or perhaps if you’d like to see this lighting working in a video game before we see it in the real world. Can you imagine playing Asphalt 2016: Swarm Lights by next year? Gameloft, that’s your cue! Make our eyes bleed by the time we’re ready to see it all happen in real life!
Also note that we’ve got a giant archive of materials we saw up close and personal at CES 2013 and you can catch more car action than your mind can handle in our Car hub now as well. Audi is there along with many other super-excellent car brands as well!
If you’re on the hunt for a more hands-free lighting solution when you hit the great outdoors, consider Voltaic’s new USB-powered Touchlight as an alternative to your regular flashlight. It swaps a D-cell filled body for a compact waterproof head tethered to a set of swappable USB cables that can be plugged into whatever rechargeable backup battery you happen to be carrying. More »
When a natural disaster strikes in the middle of the night, the last thing you want to do is waste time stumbling around in the dark looking for a flashlight. So a company in Japan, where recent disasters have left the country on high alert, has developed an LED flashlight that automatically lights up when an earthquake hits. More »
It’s only a matter of time before LED lightbulbs completely replace their energy-efficient compact fluorescent predecessors. And when that day comes, the only thing CFLs will be good for is illuminating this adorable pig lamp. More »
While 4K TVs are excellent, for the next couple of years most of us will still be selecting a 1080p model when we’re out shopping, and now we’ve got a little more detail about some of the new ones Sony announced last week. After letting its “Triluminos” RGB LED lighting technology fall by the wayside after 2009 because of its high cost, Sony has brought the brand back in this year’s HDTVs. Noted in the press release and highlighted today in the MIT Technology Review, this iteration uses QD Vision’s quantum dot technology to enhance the red/green/blue LED backlighting the series is known for. According to the CTO of QD Vision, the TVs start with a blue backlight — instead of the standard white LED — which stimulates quantum dots that emit “pure green and pure red.” Sony was very proud of its Triluminos tech at the show and our experience at demonstrations seemed to validate the quality of the approach. While we’ve been hearing about quantum dots for years, this is reportedly their first appearance in a mass produced consumer product, once it hits homes we’ll be able to tell if the wait was truly worth it.
When you were a kid you probably clinged to your handlebar grips for dear life while attempting ridiculous stunts on your BMX bike. But now that you’re older and know better, the only reason you’ll need a set of bike grips is in the form of a flashlight used to illuminate your walk to the bathroom several times a night. More »
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