So what $150 a bulb?

Ah, a solution in search of a problem.

That's kind of cool, but LED lightbulbs are nothing new.

Those CFLs have a blue color we don't like? Um, he isn't aware they come in all sorts of color temps? Yeah, most of them are the 6000k blue type, but go on Amazon and search for CFL 2700K and you get nice warm yellow ones identical to old-fashioned incandescents. That's what I use.

vossiewulf: Those CFLs have a blue color we don't like? Um, he isn't aware they come in all sorts of color temps? Yeah, most of them are the 6000k blue type, but go on Amazon and search for CFL 2700K and you get nice warm yellow ones identical to old-fashioned incandescents. That's what I use.

Yea, But do they dance to dubstep?

/ kidding

EvilEgg: So what $150 a bulb?

Plus a smartphone.

Jamdug!: That's kind of cool, but LED lightbulbs are nothing new.

They aren't anything new, but this is certainly an innovative way to couple more modern technology with them. It would be fun to mess around with the software too. For instance, assuming you have your phone with you the bulbs could potentially track you as you move through your home, lighting the way as you go and turning off lights as you leave a room. At minimum they could detect you coming and going from your home and act accordingly. Or for those who work night shifts the bulbs could be used to simulate rising light levels similar to the sun rising. Home security systems could also benefit from these.

meh. You still have to muck about with a phone. What he should have done is develop voice/movement actuated lighting. All the tech is already present. This is what happens when you *give* people money...

yeeeshe - tough crowd. Looks cool.

Canton: Yeah, the smart phone aspect makes this a "no" for me. The idea of programmable, color-changing LED bulbs is great. Meanwhile, not everyone has a smartphone. (I do, but still.) That narrows the market. Smartphone tech is continually evolving, and involves more than one OS. That's not going to stop. If the bulbs can last for 25 years, would this company be diligent about tweaking multiple versions of their app to match their customers' phones?

They should have developed a dedicated control device to go with the bulbs, is what I'm saying.

This. Lots of add-on and replacement sales.

$69 for a farking light bulb. Rub a lamp, bro.

$69 for something that's already been invented and you can get for $7.00 from Amazon. Sounds like a really good deal.

Canton: Yeah, the smart phone aspect makes this a "no" for me. The idea of programmable, color-changing LED bulbs is great. Meanwhile, not everyone has a smartphone. (I do, but still.) That narrows the market. Smartphone tech is continually evolving, and involves more than one OS. That's not going to stop. If the bulbs can last for 25 years, would this company be diligent about tweaking multiple versions of their app to match their customers' phones?

They should have developed a dedicated control device to go with the bulbs, is what I'm saying.

I suspect there would be a fair bit of overlap between people that would want cool trick LED lights and smart phone users. The $69 a pop might be the larger barrier. Even with a 25 year life, and reduced energy cost, that's an expensive bulb.

I'd buy a smart bulb @ $20 a bulb, but not $70, and definitely not $150.

Do all of them operate off of Wi-Fi? Why? Better to have one module that plugs into your wall outlet and run the networking over the power lines.

Also not sure how they are supposed to operate if they are physically turned off by your switch.

All-in-all, a very cool idea, but the price point has to be a lot lower, which means better engineering on the control mechanisms.

I currently get good LED bulbs at Microcenter for $8 or $9 (dimmable). I realize these are not RGB LED bulbs... but as quantities manufactured goes up, costs would come down.

Also, there needs to be moe than an iPhone app to control it. I'd propose control software for Android, Windows, Linux and OSX, at the very least.

Oh... and like my old X-10 setup, it would be nice to have "virtual switches" instead of hard switches. One model could replace the old switch, the other could just be stuck to the wall, even using just batteries.

/Would be nice to have random light control when away on vacation
//Even nicer to tie into sensors to provide light in the middle of the night without having to find a switch

maxheck: Once you put a microcontroller in something all sorts of things are possible, but some engineers never stop to think if those things are actually *desirable.*

Ask a biologist about computer-controlled autoclaves. Stupidest over-techologizing EVAR!

A lot of the basics in this presentation really are interesting, and would be great, if they were cheap and if the entire system had an absolutely failsafe and idiot-proof fallback for the controls. Like, I don't know, light switches that just turn the lights on, when you want it bright, and off when you don't.

maxheck: LesserEvil:

I'd buy a smart bulb @ $20 a bulb, but not $70, and definitely not $150.

Do all of them operate off of Wi-Fi? Why? Better to have one module that plugs into your wall outlet and run the networking over the power lines.

Also not sure how they are supposed to operate if they are physically turned off by your switch.

All-in-all, a very cool idea, but the price point has to be a lot lower, which means better engineering on the control mechanisms.

I currently get good LED bulbs at Microcenter for $8 or $9 (dimmable). I realize these are not RGB LED bulbs... but as quantities manufactured goes up, costs would come down.

Also, there needs to be moe than an iPhone app to control it. I'd propose control software for Android, Windows, Linux and OSX, at the very least.

Oh... and like my old X-10 setup, it would be nice to have "virtual switches" instead of hard switches. One model could replace the old switch, the other could just be stuck to the wall, even using just batteries.

/Would be nice to have random light control when away on vacation
//Even nicer to tie into sensors to provide light in the middle of the night without having to find a switch

The price is definitely high especially since they're using Kickstarter to pay for the development, but there are a couple of components to this that aren't going to get much cheaper through volume.

Specifically the wireless module (COTS, already in every wireless gadget out there) and the digitally-controlled current regulators to vary the color and brightness. I'm guessing you *might* see this at $50 / bulb, but you're unlikely to see it at $20.

I'm also curious to see how well it handles heat. Dumb power FETs don't mind running hot, but microcontrollers certainly do.

I've never messed around with X10 through-the-wires controllers, but don't they have problems if you have the controller on a different breaker than the devices you're controlling? I know they have issues with surge protectors and other powe ...

Well, that's my basic issue with their approach. You don't need a wireless module, and yes, they make modules for powerline data transmission that would probably be less than $5 on a BoM.

As for powerline data transmission technology, I believe they've worked through most of the issues that plagued things applications X-10. The spotty X-10 powerline stuff is 20 year old technology.

As for heat, I've got an 8 watt LED at my desk right now... the heat sink is pretty decent. I can touch the bulb and it's warm, but not hot.Likewise, it's in a clip/desklamp shroud, and the temp reads out at 94degF with my temp probe at the base of the bulb. Plenty of microelectronics can handle that temperature.

evulc: i hope thats a really old video ;)

Kickstarter project was launched on 9/15/12

I dont mind getting up from my chair and turning the light off via the switch on the wall...therfore I am better then you lazy ass I can do it from my smartphone idiots.

Giltric: I dont mind getting up from my chair and turning the light off via the switch on the wall...therfore I am better then you lazy ass I can do it from my smartphone idiots.

I suppose you refuse to use one of them fancy remote controls for your tube TV and Betamax player, and hang onions from your belt, too.

We're greening Kickstarter videos, really?

/disgruntled my home anal polyp adventure game didn't get funded.

vossiewulf: Those CFLs have a blue color we don't like? Um, he isn't aware they come in all sorts of color temps? Yeah, most of them are the 6000k blue type, but go on Amazon and search for CFL 2700K and you get nice warm yellow ones identical to old-fashioned incandescents. That's what I use.

Seriously. Also, I don't get up to turn on my lights anymore:



The remote is tiny. It sits on our coffee table. Easy control of all the lamps in our living room.

Sylvia_Bandersnatch: Know how I know you didn't watch the whole thing?

I tried, honest to God, I tried. But that video was more tedious and mind-numbing than Coldplay opening for Radiohead, and I just couldn't slog through to the end. Light switches involved somewhere, then?