Yanko Design posted about the Flat Bulb - it’s a, um, well, it’s a flat edison lamp, medium screw type, and it’s flat.  It’s a flat bulb.  Designed by Joonhuyn Kim and displayed at the 100% Design Tokyo show this year.  So, the flatness - better for shipping?  Won’t roll away on you?

LEDs Mag had a product article on these interesting little PAR16 LED lamps - They’re three 1W high power LED sources - these are supposed to be direct replacements for incandescent medium screw (that’s E26 Edison for you geeks out there, represent) base R lamps.  Looks pretty cool - these are 20° beam spread.

Check out the article.  Here’s the LEDtronics product site.

There is talk right now of technology that could revolutionize the way wireless communication is utilized - imagine using flashing light to communicate with devices, not unlike the way that IR technology is used with devices, or light pipe technology is used in recording.  Boston University’s College of Engineering is launching a program with help from an NSF grant to get this kind of technology kicking.  From the article at Cellular News:

“Imagine if your computer, iPhone, TV, radio and thermostat could all communicate with you when you walked in a room just by flipping the wall light switch and without the usual cluster of wires,” said BU Engineering Professor Thomas Little. “This could be done with an LED-based communications network that also provides light - all over existing power lines with low power consumption, high reliability and no electromagnetic interference. Ultimately, the system is expected to be applicable from existing illumination devices, like swapping light bulbs for LEDs.”

As far as green technology goes, this is an amazing prospect - I am interested to see what wavelengths they decide to exhaust first, and what the rates of transmission would be.

Along with communication technology, the article mentions automobile safety:

“This technology has many implications for automobile safety,” Little said. “Brake lights already use LEDs, so it’s not a stretch to outfit an automobile with a sensor that detects the brake lights of the car in front of it and either alerts an inattentive driver or actively slows the car.”

The problem with a lot of LED replacement lamps is that they’re space-aged looking, and need special bases and such.  A company called Frog Design has solved this problem, and quite frankly, they’re sitting on a goldmine in this humble LD’s opinion.

I give you the Frog Light.  An LED lamp that looks like an incandescent, uses the same medium screw-type base as all of the other incandescents in your house, and will use a fraction of the power.  Check it out.

thanks Yanko Design!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN from JimOnLight!

When I was trying to find some funny image to post for this goulish day, I discovered something eerily related to light, and what a perfect venue in which to post it!  Sorry, I wish that I had discovered these sooner!!!

Halloween Compact Fluorescent Lamps!

In the same vein as the Josephine PMMA lamp, Keune and Mulder have another beautiful piece in their respective repertories - the Therese chandelier.  Keune and Mulder do great things with PMMA - there’s another product being reviewed as well in a few days made of their PMMA-cut configuration - a table lamp, the Marie-Louise.  Both Dave Keune and Sander Mulder have this product on their sites.

What I understand about these PMMA fixtures is that there is also a color filter insert for the inner dimmable fluorescent source, which could be quite fun.  A suggestion I might make for them is to produce a set of color correcting filters for random occasions, or for people suffering from Seasonal Affective Disorder.  No matter the occasion, these are beautiful pieces.

Royal Phillips (you know, Phillips - the company that makes lamps) has a bunch of new technologies geared towards green living, “simplicity,” and sustainability.  Inspired by a post at Inhabitat about Phillips’ Interactive LED Light Bulb, I started researching their new line of “Simplicity” branded stuff.  I must say, holy crap.  The basis for their new technology is making the alteration of lighting levels in your house as easy as the flick of a hand or simple gestures.

First, check out the isocahedron shaped Simplicity LED lamps:

This is hand-controlled.  It senses movement.

I also found this video of the SImplicity Demo Event in NYC:

The whole mantry around the Simplicity technology and products is that they’re engineered and designed around you, easy to operate, and advanced.  I’m impressed.

How freaking cool is THAT?!  A little cell-powered light source, small enough to fit in your wallet.  When you flip up the “bulb” in the middle, a nice amber glow emanates from the “fixture.”  This was designed by Hyun Jin Yoon and Eun Hak Lee.

Cool.  Thanks, Yanko Design!

Yanko Design’s blog posted an article a week or so ago about Ira Rozhavsky’s design for “Shattered Lights,” a lamp made from white LED’s, broken tempered glass, and a silicone lining cont5aining the whole thing.  Apparently you’re able to bend, twist, and shape the lamp into whatever configuration you’d like.

Check it out:

DOE is hosting a webcast for the Bright Tomorrow Lighting Prize - a competition established by the Congress to promote efficiency in lighting and lighting devices. The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 called for super efficient solid state lighting products to replace the 60W incandescent lamp and the PAR38 halogen reflector lamp.

It’s free to get on the webcast, but they’re limiting space. Also, take note that the link for Lighting Prize’s website is incorrect on the link listed here - it’s http://lightingprize.org/ to find out about the Lighting Prize.