LightBlobs
Forget about “that” voice assistant or your smart phone app.
With these coasters, you can access your ambient lighting in your room with a simple tap of a coloured blob. Changing the light colour has never been easier.
Whats more? You can still place your coffee mug and protect your furniture, while not accidentally triggering the lightsPUBLISHED
DEC 2024
SERVICES
interaction design & hardware assembly
INDUSTRY
home automation
01
Analysis
Smart lamps are mostly controlled from vendor-specific clickers, smartphone apps and sometimes voice. These options are occasionally inconvenient (e.g. It can be inappropriate to shout voice commands in company, or flip through multiple screens on your smartphone just to change the hue of a lamp)
02
Ideation
What if there was an alternative way to control these lamps discreetly and without several menus to get to the desired setting?
We looked at using everyday objects for this purpose and so picked these colourful coasters. They are simple: tap a colour, and the hue changes instantly.
03
Sketch and Prototyping
Lots of conductive yarn was used here. The concept was straightforward: use a Bella Trill Craft and its touch channels to direct commands to a server. Tap on a colour, and that colour will be activated. Tap the centre and power the lights on or off.
04
Finish
We added a 3d printed base to hide the electronics better. Everything works as expected. This was also evaluated with 25 participants.
