Feb 12

Nanofiber lighting promises to be better, safer than incandescent or CFL bulbs

Posted in: light, Today's Chili
Well, it looks like you can add another contender to the great light bulb debate — a group of researchers from RTI International now says that nanofiber lighter is more efficient than incandescent light bulbs, and safer than compact fluorescents. The secret to that, it seems, is a combination of nanofiber-based reflectors and photoluminescent nanofibers (or PLN), which together are able to form a lighting device that pumps out more than 55 lumens of light output per electrical watt consumed. That’s five times more efficient than a regular incandescent light bulb, and since there’s no mercury, the researchers say it’s far safer than CFL bulbs. What’s more, it’s also apparently able to produce more natural light than CFLs, although there’s noticeably no mention of potential pricing — they do say that the first products using nanofiber lighting could be available in three to five years, though. Video after the break.

[Thanks, DeFlanko]

Continue reading Nanofiber lighting promises to be better, safer than incandescent or CFL bulbs

Nanofiber lighting promises to be better, safer than incandescent or CFL bulbs originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 12 Feb 2010 13:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jan 25

Book-Light Holds a Kandle to Kindle

Posted in: Accessories and Peripherals, e-books, kindle, light, Today's Chili

kandle

Any book-light will work with your e-reader, but a purpose-made one will at least grip properly to the slim top of your Kindle, Sony Reader or Nook without wobbling loose. And if you own an actual Kindle, the Kandle is the perfect aesthetic match.

The clip-on LED Kandle costs $40 (current sale price $25) and folds down into a small, white, pocket-sized pod. A glance a the photos shows that it casts the usual cold light that comes from LEDs, a crying shame when all you want is the warm and cosy 3,000 Kelvin of an incandescent bulb, something easily done with a filter.

Still, as book lights go, this one looks pretty good. I remain a fan of reading in the almost-dark, choosing to believe that this will exercise my eyes (just as exerting any other muscle will improve its tone), and not destroy them as everybody in the world likes to (mistakenly) tell me. And when I’m actually in bed, I read from my iPod Touch so as not to disturb the Lady. One day, though, when I am single an almost blind, I shall buy myself a Kandle.

Kandle LED Book Light with new WideLip grip designed for the Amazon Kindle [Amazon via Oh Gizmo]


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Jan 22

Nanosys and LG Innotek agree deal for newfangled LED-backlit displays

Posted in: cellphones, Displays, LED, LG, light, nanotechnology, partnership, Today's Chili

For the nitty gritty of how Nanosys’ proprietary LED backlighting technology works, check out our earlier coverage here — what you really need to know is that the company promises a significantly wider color gamut from its displays, while reducing power consumption by up to 50 percent. Quantum dot LEDs have shown their faces before, but now there’s the big hulking heft of LG Innotek — LG’s component manufacturing arm — behind what Nanosys is offering, which indicates we might actually see the release of nanotech-infused displays within the first half of this year as promised. The early focus appears to be on mobile phones, which gives us yet another next-gen feature to add to our list of requirements for our next phone. Check out the full PR after the break.

Continue reading Nanosys and LG Innotek agree deal for newfangled LED-backlit displays

Nanosys and LG Innotek agree deal for newfangled LED-backlit displays originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 22 Jan 2010 21:49:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jan 21

Siemens gurus hit 500Mbps with white LED lights, dare you to blink

Posted in: LED, light, Today's Chili, Wireless

You know what’s better than wireless power? Nothing, frankly. You know what comes darn close? Wicked fast transmissions through thin air. Researchers from Siemens have just shattered their own record for wireless data transfer using white LED light, hitting a whopping 500Mbps while working in collaboration with the Heinrich Hertz Institute in Berlin. The old record sat at “just” 200Mbps, but the new speeds are helping to take Visible Light Communication from a hopeful technology to a serious contender in the space. These same researchers were also able to show that a system using up to five LEDs is capable of beaming out data over long distances at up to 100Mbps. We’re told that the IEEE has been toiling tirelessly since 2007 to standardize activities in this field, and while a late 2010 completion date is currently being penciled in, we’re not holding our breath. Anyone remember how long it took 802.11n to escape “draft?”

[Thanks, Mademoiselle Y]

Continue reading Siemens gurus hit 500Mbps with white LED lights, dare you to blink

Siemens gurus hit 500Mbps with white LED lights, dare you to blink originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 21 Jan 2010 05:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jan 12

Nanosys offers better saturation of LED-backlit displays with nanoscale coating

Posted in: LED, light, nanotechnology, Today's Chili

While we all wait around for larger-sized OLED displays to become feasible for the consumer market, Nanosys has stolen in and demonstrated a new LED coating technique that proposes to radically improve color saturation in LED-backlit screens. Based on standard blue LEDs — the most efficient kind — this works by applying nanoparticles to the light and thereby endowing it with the desired hue. While the nano-coating can make standalone LED lights far richer in color, the real potential is in its deployment in LED-backlit displays, such as those becoming dominant on laptops today. By employing a coated array of blue LEDs instead of the standard white stuff, this can deliver greater color saturation while fitting within the same energy profile of current LED tech. Products boasting Nanosys’ new hotness are said to be coming out later this year, with some appropriate premium slapped on the price for the fancier output.

Nanosys offers better saturation of LED-backlit displays with nanoscale coating originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 12 Jan 2010 09:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jan 04

Klipsch LightSpeaker makes whole home audio as simple as screwing in a light bulb (hands-on)

Posted in: audio, feature, Features, hands-on, light, speaker, Today's Chili

When we walked the sound-filled halls of Klipsch’s Indianapolis headquarters last month, the company insisted that it was always looking at possible expansions into new markets. Today at CES, it’s proving that those words aren’t being uttered carelessly. The all-new LightSpeaker is a unique and potentially game-changing device in the whole home audio market, as unlike similar contraptions, this one requires no external wiring or power. The device is designed to fit into normal 5- to 6-inch light recesses, which enables existing homeowners to easily retrofit these into their ceilings and walls. We were granted some hands-on time with the light, and put simply, you just screw it into a conventional fixture, dial up the desired zone on the bundled remote, and listen. A full-range driver sits just beneath the LED light, and it receives signals via a 2.4GHz base station that can be plugged into just about any source.

Klipsch plans to ship these soon in two main packages: a kit that includes a base station and two LightSpeakers for around $600 and a single LightSpeaker by its lonesome for around $250. The bundled controller allows users to control two zones and two sources, and you can also adjust lighting brightness and volume via the main station or the smaller remote. Each zone can easily support four LightSpeakers, and when we asked if these could withstand the elements, we were told that they’d do fine in a covered patio but probably not within an unshielded pool deck. In other words, some humidity shouldn’t be an issue, but you probably wouldn’t want ’em to get rained on all night. We also wouldn’t be surprised to see a bundle in the future that includes a wireless subwoofer to really round out the audio, but don’t say you heard it from us. Peek the gallery for a closer look!

Gallery: Klipsch LightSpeaker makes whole home audio as simple as screwing in a light bulb (hands-on)

Continue reading Klipsch LightSpeaker makes whole home audio as simple as screwing in a light bulb (hands-on)

Klipsch LightSpeaker makes whole home audio as simple as screwing in a light bulb (hands-on) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 05 Jan 2010 00:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dec 17

LED traffic lights don’t melt snow, do cause accidents

Posted in: LED, light, safety, Today's Chili

A number of cold weather American states are reporting their dismay at finding out that LED traffic lights are so energy efficient that they do not produce enough excess heat to dissipate any snow that covers them. It turns out, perhaps in an homage to bad engineering everywhere, that the inefficiency of incandescent light bulbs was previously relied upon to keep traffic signals unimpeded. The new LEDs do not achieve the same effect, which has resulted in a few accidents and even a death being blamed on obstructed traffic lights. Feel free to apply palm to face now. It’s not all gloomy, though, as the majority of people are said to treat a dysfunctional traffic light as a stop sign (how clever of them), and a tech fix is being worked on as we speak.

LED traffic lights don’t melt snow, do cause accidents originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 17 Dec 2009 09:16:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceYahoo! News  | Email this | Comments

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Nov 23

Blinking LEDs to give QR codes a run for their (ad) money

Posted in: ad, advertising, Japan, LED, light, marketing, RobotApocalypse, Today's Chili, Toshiba, Wireless

We’re still waiting for this so-called QR code revolution to hit North America, but our contemporaries across the Pacific are already looking to develop the next big thing. Reportedly, a smattering of mega-corps (including the likes of Toshiba and NEC) are joining hands in order to concoct a rivaling technology that requires even less effort to get content from billboards, books and posters to one’s mobile. The heretofore unnamed system utilizes blinking LEDs to send data to phones, and so long as an ad has enough room for a minuscule light, consumers can come within five meters of it and receive the associated information by simply pointing their handset in the direction of the light. If all goes well, the technology will be ready for commercialization by 2013, or just after phase one of the Robot Apocalypse.

Blinking LEDs to give QR codes a run for their (ad) money originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 23 Nov 2009 23:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink MobileCrunch  |  sourceNikkei  | Email this | Comments

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Oct 31

How-to: geek up your pumpkin

Posted in: Features, light, Today's Chili

BOO! It’s Halloween and it’s also a Saturday, so let’s not hear any pathetic excuses for not carving pumpkins. While we’re no experts, we’ve got a few tips for making your jack-o’-lanterns better looking and more unique:

  • Always mark where you’re carving first instead of freestyling, especially for the lid. Once the knife’s in there’s nothing you can do about it.
  • Want an accurate carving? Draw or print your pattern on paper first and then stick it on the pumpkin, so that you can use a pin to punch an outline.
  • Use a scalpel. Seriously, it’s so much better than kitchen knives.
  • Be creative: consider using a variety of carving depths instead of just cutting out holes. It’s best to start off with the darkest areas so that you know where the threshold is. If it’s too shallow you can always scrape the trench.
  • Don’t use candles — they don’t last and aren’t safe for the kids and animals; many LED candles have a convincing flickering glow, so try those. Alternatively, why not convert a cheap solar garden light into a lid for your jack-o’-lantern? Or go Ben-Heck and try the Cylon mod?
  • Keep the seeds for roasting — they make a good snack.

Feel free to refer to our gallery for the whole process. Enjoy and have a happy Halloween!

Gallery: How-to: geek up your pumpkin

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How-to: geek up your pumpkin originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 31 Oct 2009 11:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Oct 28

LAb[au]’s f5x5x5 framework sculpture mesmerizes on video

Posted in: concept, light, Today's Chili, video

It’s been nearly three full years since we’ve seen anything hot and fresh from LAb[au], but thankfully, said drought is decidedly over. By using a combination of aluminum, Plexiglas, LED lights, determination, wit, stepper motors, critical thinking and IR tracking technologies, the f5x5x5 sculpture was created. Dubbed a “kinetic and luminous framework,” the installation is part of a larger ’16n’ project designed to confront architectural problems (like congestion and flows) with spatial sensing technologies. We know, that’s all pretty deep — but if you’re just lookin’ for a good time, we’d recommend heading past the break, mashing play and dropping your kudos in comments.

Continue reading LAb[au]’s f5x5x5 framework sculpture mesmerizes on video

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LAb[au]’s f5x5x5 framework sculpture mesmerizes on video originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 28 Oct 2009 07:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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