Light

Thankfully, data transmission speeds have come a long way since the days of dial-up when users would have plenty of time to twiddle their thumbs as they waited for an image or MP3 to make its way to their hard drive. These days, broadband cable currently supports speeds of around 30 megabits per second, which is a hell of an improvement. Now researchers have outdone that by a factor of around 85,000 by using twisted beams of light to transmit data at up to 2.56 terabits per second.  Read More

If you're anything like us, you probably spent many an hour in your younger days bouncing up and down on a seesaw (or teeter-totter or teeter board, depending on where you grew up. And, even now, you might fight the desire to relive your childhood and jump on one as you walk past a playground. But Melbourne-based design group ENESS has created a seesaw, which comes complete with hundreds of LEDs and a physics engine to explore the forces at work on the familiar playground staple, that might just prove too difficult to resist.  Read More

We know there’s an ongoing quest to build a better mousetrap, but what about a better insect trap? That’s just what Acase, working with design house inadays, believes it has done with the creation of the InaTrap. With an appearance not dissimilar to a designer lamp, the InaTrap attracts, traps and kills insects so you can ditch the swatter and insect spray.  Read More

Streetlamps burn all night long, 365 nights a year, yet they also spend all day soaking up the Sun’s rays. This combination of regular usage alternating with sunlight exposure would seem to make them ideal candidates for the solar-power treatment. Indeed, companies such as Sharp and several others currently offer solar-powered streetlamps. Spain’s University of Seville, however, has developed a streetlamp that harnesses the power not only of sunlight, but also of wind.  Read More

The Bang! lamp, a "whimsical and interactive objet d'art" from Bitplay, is a novelty lamp that lets you shoot the lights on and off with a gun-shaped remote control. It's as useful as The Clapper, but much cooler and more fun.  Read More

When we think of invisibility cloaks, probably the first things that come to mind are Harry Potter-like contraptions that allow people or large objects to instantly disappear. Scientists from the University of Maryland and nearby Towson University, however, today announced their development of something a little different – little being the key word. They have crammed 25,000 tiny “invisibility cloaks” onto a gold sheet, which itself only measures 25 millimeters per side. While the resulting biochip array may not allow any young wizards to vanish from sight, it could allow them to identify biological materials.  Read More

Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson, whose body of work is mostly based on light installations, last week presented a small solar powered light during the World Economic Forum in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Olafur collaborated with engineer Frederik Ottesen to create Little Sun, which they hope can help bring indoor lighting to those people who lack access in developing countries.  Read More

SolarFocus picked up the Innovation Award at CES 2012 for its SolarKindle e-Reader cover that features a built-in solar panel, integrated battery and LED reading lamp. The company has announced it is now shipping the device for both Kindle Touch and Kindle 4.  Read More

People who commute by bicycle don't have to remove their pedals, racks or fenders when they park in public ... so why should their lights be any different? Well, because most battery-operated bike lights come off with the simple flick of a quick-release, or the turning of a single bolt. Massachusetts-based Gotham Bicycle Defense Industries, however, is attempting to address that problem with its Defender bike light. Not only is it theft-resistant, but it's also waterproof, and it looks like the light Dirty Harry would use - if he rode a bike.  Read More