To be more accurate, this LightPoints system from SCHOTT actually uses LEDs that are sandwiched between two pieces of laminated glass to create the effect they’re floating in space. The system also uses a Polyvinyl Butyral Foil (PVB) laminate which is a pre-structured clear conductive coating that allows electricity to reach the LEDs without the use of visible wiring, which would take away from the effect.
In fact the power can be delivered through conductive circuits on top of the glass which allows any necessary wiring to be built into the framework or supports surrounding the panels. What’s even cooler is the fact that the LEDs can all be triggered individually, allowing specific sequences to be played. If the glass (which is all custom made to order) had a dense enough pattern of LEDs, it could probably be used to play back messages or other more complex animations.
Urban living is just another way to say you live in a small, cramped apartment in a big city. But if you furnish your pad correctly, you can actually make it seem a lot bigger than it really is. The Little Lamp designed by Sam Hurt and Jude Biddulph looks like a classic table lamp and comes complete with a clip-on shade and a pull-chain to turn it on or off. But the base of the lamp is actually a single D-cell battery, which of course also powers the LED bulb.
So not only is it saving you precious space, but it also won’t add anything to your monthly power bill. Just couple this with a 2-inch Sony Watchman TV in the living room, and an Easy Bake Oven in the kitchen and I guarantee your small apartment will seem like a spacious penthouse. (Note: Guarantee not guaranteed.)
You can find the Little Lamp at the MoMA Store for $19.95, and the LED bulb and battery are included.
Until today I would have never categorized a shower head as being high-tech, but this Sandwich series from Cristina Rubinetterie looks pretty slick. It’s called the ‘Sandwich’ because the shower head is made up of a series of 1mm thick steel plates (or discs) all stacked together. As the website explains it, “the pressurized water arriving through a distributor from the inlet pipe acts as a spring on the discs. This allows for a more even distribution of the water inside the shower head. With no other outlet, the water flows through the holes protected with limescale-proof membrane and cascades in a wide and powerful jet.”
As a result the shower head can be custom made in any shape up to 120cm x 120cm in size, and still maintain a constant water pressure across the whole surface. But that’s not all. The Sandwich Chromatherapy shower head adds a series of 96 colored LEDs around the rim that are able to produce the entire spectrum of chromatherapeutic colors. The colors can be configured from a small control panel depending on what effect or pattern you’re after. And to think I’ve just been using my shower to get clean all these years… Such a waste.
Have you ever seen someone across the room and wished you had some way to communicate with them? Sure, you could actually walk over to them and talk, but that would involve some effort on your part, by forcing you to walk. Instead, you should just wave a Magic Wand and spell out your message. That would make you so much cooler.
Sure, you’re going to have to figure out your message long before you’re presented with this situation, like when you’ve got it hooked up to your PC, so you’ll want to be a forward-thinker. This wand uses blinking LCDs that create letters, and forming words when you wave it back-and-forth. I can’t think of any practical uses for this product, so I’ll leave that up to you guys. It should be noted (and is, on the company site) that this product isn’t intended to be used while jumping off of a building. It is however an acceptable method for picking up chicks and communicating with UFOs. This modern marvel of hi-tech communications can be yours for around $35.
Simple and beautiful, these little lights are made out of 9v batteries, LEDs, and real dandelion seeds. Each is a little bit different, and if the pricetag of $99 each seems a bit steep, consider that each is entirely hand made, which means (I can only assume) that the artist is sticking each seed onto the LED one by one while not breathing the entire time as the glue dries.
If there’s a space exploration buff on your gift list, this Satellite LED Lamp will serve as a unique reminder of those early days, and designs. The lamp bears a passing resemblance to the Russian Sputnik satellite as well as the United State’s own Project Vanguard satellites.
Of course I’m pretty sure Sputnik didn’t have a single LED on board, given the fact that it just celebrated its 50 year anniversary. However this satellite lamp has 24 of them in red, green and blue that flash on and off in one of 8 “dazzling display options.” It apparently also includes a realistic red “engage” button to cycle through the different patterns.
I’m going to skip right over the question of how a company rationalizes naming itself “God Ability” and just introduce one of their products: a fuzzy wristband with an integrated (and uncomfortable looking) programmable LED display. You can input up to 6 separate 255 character messages in either English or katakana, which will scroll across your wrist in either glowing red or glowing blue. I guess the messages might even be readable if someone happens to be staring at your wrist from the proper orientation for a long, long time. Now all I need are some scrolling LED leg warmers, and I’ll be all set. Set for what, you ask? Exactly. $32.
While the MagLite will probably remain my flashlight of choice, it doesn’t stop me from drooling over the endless supply of ‘designer’ flashlights that seem to be quite popular as of late. Take for example the GatLight V3 from Lumencraft. Besides looking like something that fell out of an astronaut’s toolbox, the V3 is actually made from aerospace-grade titanium as well as carbon fiber making it both extremely durable, and extremely light.
The high-efficiency white LED is rated at 240 lumens of maximum output and has a life expectancy of about 100,000 hours, or about 11 years of being continuously on. It also uses a rechargeable 3 volt lithium battery and while it won’t last quite as long as the bulb on a single charge, it does include proprietary regulation circuitry that maintains a constant light level as the battery starts to run out.
Not surprisingly the GatLight V3 Titanium comes with a price tag of $395, but your wife will totally understand once she sees that it comes with a wooden display box.
Nope, this isn’t a super closeup of three LEDs. These are giant (approximately 20:1 scale) LED lamps, each containing 12 (normal sized) LEDs. The LEDs refract through the clear acrylic shell, creating nifty patterns on the wall, which you can see in the picture after the jump. The “LED of LED” lamps were designed by Kei Yamamoto, and were on display at the Gwangju Biennale Foundation’s Bright LED competition. My favorite design placed third; you can check out Rafael Morgan’s bizarre and amazing light drops here. One more picture of the giant LEDs after the jump. Read the rest of this entry »
I’m always impressed by the cool stuff coming out of Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories (stuff like this, for example). And their latest project is no disappointment, as you can see from the video. These coffee tables are touch sensitive, and respond to pressure with ripples of blue and white LEDs. When they aren’t being touched, the LEDs twinkle softly, but any contact sets off “waves” of light that move around the table and gradually settle down, kinda like touching a pool of water. There’s no pre-programming and no seizure-inducing blinking or flashing; it’s completely analog and smooth.
I’m happy to report that you can buy one of these. They come in two table styles, and cost in the neighborhood of $2000 (depending on options) from Because We Can. Or, you can just buy the kit (add your own table and do some soldering) starting at $350 (large sizes and colored LEDs besides blue and white cost more) directly from Evil Mad Scientist Labs. Cat+string sold separately.
Related Tags: Innovation, LEDs, Lighting
Permalink | 
No Comments
By Andrew Liszewski
By Andrew Liszewski
