Symtra bulb-less lamp reinvents the lampshade
June 19, 2012
Humanscale's Symtra lamp, designed in partnership with light fixture and industrial designer Peter Stathis, reinvents the lampshade while doing away with the traditional light bulb
Image Gallery (3 images)Humanscale's Symtra lamp, designed in partnership with light fixture and industrial designer Peter Stathis, reinvents the lampshade while doing away with the traditional light bulb.
The Symtra instead embeds the light source within the "shade," which is composed of two vertical, parallel, trapezoid planes. Its the inner faces of these shapes that emit light; the outside is finished in pitch black.
Viewed from just the right angle, the Symtra resembles a traditional floor lamp, but at any other angle it's very clearly a rather different creature.
You'd be forgiven for thinking that the Symtra lamp uses OLED technology given the uniformity of light put out by the two inward-facing surfaces that provide Symtra's light, but Humanscale says that Symtra uses LED technology as its source of light.
It seems that the uniformity and quality of the light may be down to the optical waveguide technology which Humanscale says is at work. Since an optical waveguide is merely a device, any device, which directs visible light this doesn't completely clarify how this works.
Rather more straightforward is the rotating head which allows the ratio of light and shade to be adjusted to suit directional needs.
The Symtra is destined to arrive Q4 of this year. Expect to pay in the order of US$400.
Source: Humanscale via Moco Loco
James is a graduate of the Open University, with a B.Sc. in Technology and a Diploma in Design and Innovation. After a decade in building design engineering, he side-stepped into writing about green tech and the environment. When not clattering about the web, he listens to early 90s hip hop, writes bad haiku and ponders the merits of an English three-man seam attack. All articles by James Holloway
@nigeatsolarbusiness: About $700 US or you will be missing it after buying one that has PV and Li-on batteries. That's over and above the humungous $400 price tag on it already.
VirtualGathis20th June, 2012 @ 06:47 am PDT
Probably build one that's similar for < $100 and post it to Instructables
Tom Phoghat Sobieski20th June, 2012 @ 07:09 am PDT
re: solar charging and "What am i missing?"
The fact it will be used indoors, limiting the amount of electricity it would generate/store?
I'd be concerned that the back-side of the LED areas might cast unpleasant shadows ... it looks like one might have to experiment a bit to get the light adjusted "right".
Stan Sieler20th June, 2012 @ 11:19 am PDT
How stupid making light then hiding it!!! Just use less light directly.
All they are doing it seems is beaming the LED's into the side of the plastic sheet with a sanded? surface. Been done for decades in displays, especially in radios/stereos. Likely in your car radio now.
And no one wouldn't use an ineff light like this when for 10% you can get more eff LED ones. This is all about fashion, hype.
jerryd20th June, 2012 @ 11:48 am PDT
I don't think previous commenters realise this is not a reading lamp but a stylised version of table lamp. Traditional table lamps have most always hidden the light source behind a shade its just that being far from stupid this one does it more elegantly while mimicking the shape.
As far as solar power is concerned it would make more sense to power ones entire home instead of concentrating on one lamp.
dgate20th June, 2012 @ 01:36 pm PDT
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This seems to lend itself perfectly to the integration of solar pv on the outward surface; i cant believe they missed the opportunity to do that and embed a LiIon battery in the neck?? What am i missing?
nigeatsolarbusiness19th June, 2012 @ 06:19 pm PDT