Lighting a room has never been a challenge with a one-size-fits-all solution. We have lamps and window shades and candles and light fixtures, which we operate and adjust to keep things comfortable through the day and night. With the Fluxo smart lamp, Vienna-based designer Luke Roberts Design may have finally created a smart lamp that lights any room at any time of day.
At first glance, Fluxo looks just like a simple round pendent lamp. However, using a companion app — supported by iOS or any Android device with Bluetooth LE — homeowners can set the device so that only particular portions of the circular light are on. Want to read on one side of the room while your significant other goes to sleep? No problem. Your significant other needs to wake up? Turn the other half on. You want to disco by yourself while your beloved sleeps? Shine a soft purple light in the center of the room.
The key, according to the design firm, is that Fluxo is a single LED light fixture. Rather than using bulbs, the entire lamp is a single round LED light source that hangs from the ceiling. Inside, however, 300 white and colored LEDs can be turned on and off to fine tune where and how much light shines in any given part of a room. At maximum power, the light puts out the same amount of light as a 200-watt light bulb. The upper light has red, green, and blue LEDs which shine an array of colors at a softer, 800 lumen light, just under a third of the standard light’s maximum strength.
The app can also store users’ most popular configurations — the company calls them “light scenes”– and the bulb will eventually learn to rotate different scenes throughout the day based on your behavior. The lamp also features presence detection, and will turn off automatically when you leave the room.
Fluxo has already received some preliminary praise, earning a Silver Medal at the 2015 London Design Awards last month. And that notoriety has paid off; the smart lamp has raised almost $130,000 in less than 24 hours on Kickstarter.
Buyers can support the Fluxo Kickstarter, which will run through January 11, 2016. You can currently pick up a smart lamp for $355 via an “early bird special” deal, but the standard price on Kickstarter is £419, or about $455. Bulk options for up to five lamps are also available. If everything goes according to plan, the Fluxo smart lamp will reach Kickstarter backers in August 2016.
Outdoor security cameras are not always practical if you live in an apartment or rental. Drilling into an exterior wall may be off-limits, while pointing a regular indoor camera through a window can create another problem once reflections start showing up after dark.
Baseus is trying to solve both issues with the new PrimeSentinel W1, a $69.99 security camera designed specifically to monitor the outdoors through glass. It mounts directly to a window without drilling and uses a 4K Starlight sensor with an F1.0 aperture for full-color monitoring during the day and at night.
This post is brought to you in paid partnership with Best Buy.
Technology evolves every day, transforming how we live and work. Our devices are becoming more than tools we use. They are increasingly capable companions that help streamline day-to-day routines and spark creative ideas. If you have been waiting for the right moment to upgrade your tech setup, the Discover Samsung Shopping Event offers an opportunity to explore what connected, AI-powered living can look like.
With AI progressing so fast, it's only a matter of time before we start getting AI companions like the ones we used to see in movies like R2-D2, Wall-E, or Baymax. Now, Singapore-based OKA Technology has unveiled Mori, a cute little AI companion that looks less like a conventional home robot and more like someone turned the Pokémon Foongus into a table lamp.
Mori isn't meant to clean your house or control your smart home, but to serve as what OKA calls a "Nature Companion." It uses subtle movements, warm lighting, nature-inspired sounds, and small reactions to make its presence around the house feel calming rather than distracting. Mori can sit quietly while you read, sway along to music, welcome you when you enter a room, or encourage you to slow down for a moment without requiring a screen or a conversation.