Philips switches on future lighting

MANILA, Philippines - The advent of artificial lighting in history obviously unshackled mankind from the dangers and limitations of candles and other open-flame light sources. Perhaps more significantly, it enabled people to more effectively work, play, and interact deep into the night. As a consequence, artificial lighting doubtless helped civilization evolve at a much faster pace by stretching people’s productive periods.

Today, lighting technology continues to push the envelope — yielding form factors that afford people more control while requiring less power.

Netherlands-headquartered conglomerate Philips is among those, well, lighting the way toward an exciting future, and the company recently shared a smorgasbord of innovative lighting solutions that people can expect on the horizon.

The premise for all the cutting-edge lighting tech is that, says Philips in a release, “Darkness dramatically affects the lives of people, often reduces their quality of work, and persistence to foresee what lies ahead.”

“Light is inspiration,” insists Philips Philippine country manager Fabia Tetteroo-Bueno. “Whether you are resting in your home or working at the office, light can have a dramatic effect on how we do things.”

Indeed, lighting is the context by which people live their lives — helping dictate their moods and even alertness and readiness for tasks or activities ahead. For instance, have you noticed a certain light temperature or color makes you sleepy or, conversely, creative?

Philips lighting division country marketing manager Christine Villanueva admits that, for now, a lot of the new products Philips is offering will initially be available at the business-to-business level, but are expected to be rolled out eventually to a vibrant consumer market.

To better crystallize its vision for the future of lighting, Philips unveils six innovation concepts “to change perspectives in terms of lighting and design symmetry.” These are: flexibility, controllability, alternative energy, connectivity, dynamism, and materials integration. Tetteroo-Bueno insists: “These concepts exemplify our vision for lighting in the next decade.”

Flexibility: Design freedom from OLEDs

Philips uses organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) as sophisticated lighting solution that lends itself to both aesthetic and practical uses. Philips Living Shapes is a unique mirror product that contains OLEDs that light up around a person’s profile, and can also function as a light source.

The “interactive” mirror uses dozens of Lumiblade OLEDs — the same technology Philips uses for its Living Sculpture product. This fresh reinterpretation of the chandelier is also a perfect medium to create unique three-dimensional pieces of lighted art.

Controllability through smart panels

Groping around in the dark to feel for a light switch is no fun. The Philips Antumbra product series boasts presence, light, and temperature sensors that detect a person’s proximity and automatically switch on a soft light around the panel.

Alternative energy: A solar backbone for LED lighting

In concert with the low-energy demand of LED lighting, Philips develops a solar-powered solution for open areas such as streets, roads, basketball courts, and soccer fields. “Solar panels convert solar energy to electrical energy and store it in the battery, so that at night, the battery is discharged and electrical energy is released. It has easy installation and maintenance features, and is suitable for all outdoor lighting,” says Philips. This cost-effective product promises to solve lighting woes, particularly in areas that are off-grid.

Connectivity through mobile devices

Philips Hue affords the user unprecedented levels of lighting control through smartphones and Android devices. Piggybacking on an Internet service provider, the Hue can provide “personal wireless lighting service” while giving the user the latitude to, say, change the color of the lighting — all remotely.

“An alarm may be set so lights come on automatically or control it using the portal,” says Philips. “With its smart geofencing technology, lights will initially turn on the moment the (homeowner) enters the door.”

Dynamism: Iconic monuments get eye-catching lighting

Philips Color Kinetics, which combines powerful LED lights with advanced digital control technology, is lighting up some of the most iconic landmarks around the world, such as the Empire State Building.

The “architectural and lifestyle lighting system” boasts multitudes of colors to interestingly light up architectural structures, interiors, and works of art, both indoors and outdoors.

Materials integration

Imagine a wall or ceiling that lights up. Philips maximizes commercial spaces through sensory luminous textile panels made of multi-colored LED modules integrated within acoustic textile panels. These both show dynamic content and soften sound in a room.

The luminous textile hosts fully customizable content. This Philips product features Kvadrat Soft Cell textile that keeps fabric under constant tension within an aluminum frame.

Meanwhile, the Soundlight Comfort Ceiling creates a “natural lighting atmosphere, preventing light glares that may cause eyestrain. Philips has designed this concept to attain high visual comfort to bolster people’s concentration as it was designed to reduce unwanted sounds, and limits sound propagation that causes disturbances from unnecessary noise.”

The bottom line is clear: Life does not grind to a halt when the sun comes down, and mankind now more keenly controls lighting — not the other way around.

* * *

For more information, visit www.philips.com.ph.