Here's a Bright Idea: Smart Bulbs for Better Lighting
Lightbulbs that can change brightness and color with a cell phone command show flashes of design brilliance
A regular lightbulb tends to come in one color and one brightness level. But now new LED (light-emitting diode) lightbulbs promise to become any color and any brightness at any time you like. And best of all, they can be controlled by the phone in your pocket.
The current generation of long-life bulbs — those squiggly tube bulbs — are frugal with energy and last a long time. But the color they cast can be cold and harsh, not always what you want lighting your home.
The ability to customize color can dramatically improve a room's appearance, your state of mind and also your own performance, for lack of a better word. Studies show that light can affect mood, productivity and eyestrain. By optimizing your lighting for your activities in the room — reading, working, relaxing, entertaining and so on — you can actually live better and enjoy your home more.
LED bulbs are low energy and last for decades. And some of the most innovative ones are actually fun to use.
The current generation of long-life bulbs — those squiggly tube bulbs — are frugal with energy and last a long time. But the color they cast can be cold and harsh, not always what you want lighting your home.
The ability to customize color can dramatically improve a room's appearance, your state of mind and also your own performance, for lack of a better word. Studies show that light can affect mood, productivity and eyestrain. By optimizing your lighting for your activities in the room — reading, working, relaxing, entertaining and so on — you can actually live better and enjoy your home more.
LED bulbs are low energy and last for decades. And some of the most innovative ones are actually fun to use.
LIFX Lightbulb
LIFX is another interesting phone-controlled LED lighting idea. The developers are trying to get funding via Kickstarter, so the product is neither available now nor certain to hit the market at all. But the developers say they'll have bulbs on the market in March 2013.
LIFX bulbs screw into regular lightbulb fittings but have their own built-in ability to connect to a home's Wi-Fi network. Like the Philips product, LIFX bulbs are expected to support both iOS and Android phones.
The developers say they also plan to make bulb-controlling applications for Windows and Mac. The included smart phone app would enable you to customize lightness, color and timing. The bulbs can even pulsate to the beat of music, the creators say.
LIFX bulbs have no base station; setup is simply screwing them in and firing up the app.
LIFX bulbs screw into regular lightbulb fittings but have their own built-in ability to connect to a home's Wi-Fi network. Like the Philips product, LIFX bulbs are expected to support both iOS and Android phones.
The developers say they also plan to make bulb-controlling applications for Windows and Mac. The included smart phone app would enable you to customize lightness, color and timing. The bulbs can even pulsate to the beat of music, the creators say.
LIFX bulbs have no base station; setup is simply screwing them in and firing up the app.
Lumen Smart Bulb
Yet another crowd-funded project is called Lumen, which includes the Lumen Smart Bulb.
Lumen differs mainly in its networking. Rather than communicating through a home Wi-Fi network, the system interacts with the bulb directly over short-range Bluetooth standards. That means you wouldn't control it from a distance over the Internet. But it also means the cost would be lower.
An associated iOS app would offer four presets: Party Mode, Sleep Mode, Wake Mode and Ambient Mode. You would also use the touch interface to run your finger across a color palette, with the bulbs changing color accordingly.
What Else Is Next for Smart Lighting?
The most interesting thing about smart bulbs is that software companies can make all kinds of interesting applications to control them. For example, imagine a virtual flash application that replaces the camera's flash on your phone. You could set it to suddenly brighten all the bulbs in the room with white light at the moment you take a picture.
Another likely app idea is that you could take a picture of a page in a magazine or somebody's actual home and essentially tell your lightbulbs: "Give me this lighting or color scheme." And here's perhaps the best idea of all: Designers could create lighting color schemes you could download to try in your own home.
The bottom line is that smart bulbs turn your lighting into an app. And the thing about apps is that anything is possible.
Lumen differs mainly in its networking. Rather than communicating through a home Wi-Fi network, the system interacts with the bulb directly over short-range Bluetooth standards. That means you wouldn't control it from a distance over the Internet. But it also means the cost would be lower.
An associated iOS app would offer four presets: Party Mode, Sleep Mode, Wake Mode and Ambient Mode. You would also use the touch interface to run your finger across a color palette, with the bulbs changing color accordingly.
What Else Is Next for Smart Lighting?
The most interesting thing about smart bulbs is that software companies can make all kinds of interesting applications to control them. For example, imagine a virtual flash application that replaces the camera's flash on your phone. You could set it to suddenly brighten all the bulbs in the room with white light at the moment you take a picture.
Another likely app idea is that you could take a picture of a page in a magazine or somebody's actual home and essentially tell your lightbulbs: "Give me this lighting or color scheme." And here's perhaps the best idea of all: Designers could create lighting color schemes you could download to try in your own home.
The bottom line is that smart bulbs turn your lighting into an app. And the thing about apps is that anything is possible.
These bulbs are controlled using an app available for iOS and Android devices. Once you fire up the app, an auto locate feature finds the bulbs that are plugged in, and you can pair them, much as you might pair a Bluetooth headset to a phone.
One the setup is done, you can use your phone to turn the brightness of each bulb up or down, and change the colors by dragging your finger across a picture. You can also set each bulb on a timer, to turn on and off when you choose. One fun but useless feature is that when you shake your phone, the selected bulb changes color randomly.
You can also save your color schemes to the cloud (on Philips' website). Or you can choose from among four Philips color schemes.