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Waves: A Lava Lamp with a modern twist

Waves: A Lava Lamp with a modern twist
Frank Cohen's Waves Bluetooth speaker and custom light show
Frank Cohen's Waves Bluetooth speaker and custom light show
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If you're a creative type, you can cut the Waves diffusion filters into shapes with scissors
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If you're a creative type, you can cut the Waves diffusion filters into shapes with scissors
Frank Cohen's Waves Bluetooth speaker and custom light show
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Frank Cohen's Waves Bluetooth speaker and custom light show
Under-the-hood, Waves is powered by an Arduino board
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Under-the-hood, Waves is powered by an Arduino board
Waves has no user interface of any kind, so you'll need an iOS device, Android device, or a Mac to tell it what to do via Bluetooth
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Waves has no user interface of any kind, so you'll need an iOS device, Android device, or a Mac to tell it what to do via Bluetooth
Waves comes with over 30 minutes of pre-programmed light patterns out of the box
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Waves comes with over 30 minutes of pre-programmed light patterns out of the box
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While sat at his desk trying to unwind, designer Frank Cohen was inspired to create a modern version of the Lava Lamp. The result is Waves: a smart Bluetooth speaker that sports rows of programmable LED lights which illuminate customizable diffusion filters up top.

Waves can play your favorite music while the LEDs flash in customizable patterns, serve as a standalone light show, or, when paired with a smart device, gently alert users when updates are posted to social media websites like Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest. Pre-cut diffusion filters can also be affixed to the unit, but if you're the creative type, you can use scissors to cut blank filters into shapes of your choice.

Waves has no user interface of any kind, so you'll need an iOS device, Android device, or a Mac to tell it what to do via Bluetooth
Waves has no user interface of any kind, so you'll need an iOS device, Android device, or a Mac to tell it what to do via Bluetooth

Waves comes with at least 30 minutes of pre-programmed light patterns out of the box. It's powered by an Arduino board, and backers are promised a Software Development Kit to generate Waves light shows of their own. There's no user interface on Waves itself, so you need an iOS device, Android device, or a Mac to tell it what to do via Bluetooth.

The Waves speaker can also interact with other nearby units to create more intricate light and audio shows.

Cohen has launched on Kickstarter to bring the Waves speaker into production. Backers will need to pledge at least US$149 for a duo package, which comprises two Waves units and a set of filters. If all goes to plan, shipping could start as soon as December of this year.

The pitch video below features some more information on the device.

Source: Votsh via Kickstarter

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3 comments
3 comments
Purple-Stater
Not a lava lamp, it's a modern equivalent of the early 70s console stereos that had the disco light shows built into them.
Lbrewer42
Sorry, I don't get it. A lava lamp has glowing, random blobs that float throughout the container. Someone can relax by looking at the random shapes/collisions/formations, and gentle movement up and down.
Waves is just a randomly flashing set of LEDS with softened light due to plastic cards. To me it is unimpressive.
Interactive with one another... not bad.. but this means a person would need be able to afford the space/room/cost for 100 of them, and then then it might look pretty good.
I truly believe I own Christmas decorations that are more interesting. The old fiber optic lamps. to me, blow this away.
It does not seem like a new idea either. There are a lot of online projects for makers that can be done which are very similar - some being a lot more impressive.
But maybe since this gentleman is the one who helped launch Norton, (I have not met a legit geek yet who does not consider Norton malware), he must know more about what can be marketed than I do. And maybe it is about the marketing?
I also was disappointed to see something this (sorry!) lame being compared to a lava lamp. I guess the comparison used in the title made me expect a lot more.
Bob Flint
$150 bucks for a few LED's and exposed wires, are you really serious...