Next-generation LED bulbs change color through wireless commands sent from mobile devices

We’ve all been here before: unable to relax after a stressful day at work because of pasty fluorescent lighting in our kitchens or hallways instilling anxiety. Dallas based Ilumi Solutions believes drab interior lighting does not have to be endured, instead, it should be controlled, and wirelessly at that – this is the 21st century after all. To that end, the company has introduced the ilumi series of intelligent LED bulbs whose color and brightness can be tuned directly through a mobile device using Bluetooth 4.0.

The colors, the colors!
The ilumi bulbs are all about flexible aesthetics, allowing users to adjust room lighting to any variation of color or white light they choose. Colors can be set to a range of purple and blue for cozying up with a novel or green and red when a Christmas party needs just the right bit of extra festivity. Mood lighting is at your beck and call thanks to the boundless ease of access of wirelessness.

Don’t understand the importance this notion, a study published on August 7th, 2013, in The Journal of Neuroscience, hypothesizes that light color not only affects mood but exposure to certain colors may be responsible for mood related disorders.

Lighting is an omnipotent presence in our perception of space; its color can define or refine our emotions.

Easy to use.
Ilumis screw into the same E27/E26 sockets that the majority of incandescent, CFL, and fluorescent bulbs also do, yet ilumis offer the convenience of a customizable/scalable lighting system at a fraction of the price. There are no pre-requisites for interfacing with the bulb: no routers, boxes, master-slave configurations are necessary. Bluetooth 4.0 is built directly into the bulb allowing it to link with the majority of Android or iOS devices. The bulbs also work with standard light switches in the event that no mobile device is handy.

Each ilumi bulb broadcasts a little over 100 feet with 3.5ms connection time. Bluetooth 4.0 meshing allows communication between multiple units, and thanks to this meshing, the commands being passed from one ilumi to another simultaneously extend the signal range as well.

 
Shown above are ilumi bulbs synced to music from a tablet.

Bulb varieties:
Ilumi Solutions produces two types of ilumi bulbs: the SMALL A21 and LARGE PAR30. Both style uses a patent-pending HyperLux LED technology to illuminate at over 100,000 hours while providing automation functionality and hacking capability (via SDK). The bulbs house a 16bit, 256KB Flash processor with updatable firmware via Bluetooth and app.

The SMALL A21 produces over 800 lumens of light and is suitable for lamps, fan lighting, or back lighting. It only consumes 10 watts of electricity. By contrast, the LARGE PAR30 ilumi is a tad more robust, producing over 1,100 lumens of light at the cost of only 15 watts of power. PAR30 creates of flood of light, making it more adequate in overhead or track lighting scenarios. Nevertheless, both bulbs use about seven times less energy than their incandescent equivalent.

Visit ilumi’s Kickstarter campaign page for more information