The
Internet of Things is coming your way this Christmas to light up your Christmas
Tree. That is, Christmas 2015 I'm afraid!
I'm
of course referring to the Kickstarter Project for the Aura,
billed as the World's first Wireless Christmas Lighting System as detailed
in the article “Tired
of tangled Christmas lights? Nab yourself a set of wireless ones instead”,
published November 21, 2014 by Drew Prindle, DigitalTrends.
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Aura
is the brainchild of Chris Higgins & Hardeep Johar of Santa Monica,
California. Their kickstarter which started on Wednesday November 19th
2014 aims to raise some US$50,000 over the next sixty (60) days by Sunday,
January 18 2015 1:36 PM EST to start full-scale production of their Aura
Wireless Christmas Lighting System.
So
far as of Saturday November 22nd 2014, they have some 51 backers
who've already pledged some US$$7,942 towards this project; not a bad start so
far!
Looks
like they're yet another one of those dreamers chasing after the idea of
Remotely controlled lights, with LG Electronics being the first with their Internet-controlled
Light Bulb as I’d reported in my blog article
entitled “LG
Electronics Internet Controlled LED Light Bulb - Li-Fi’s Standardization of
Alexander Graham Bell’s First Invention powered by Powerline AV 500 and
Homeplug AV”.
With
fifty six (56) days left for you to get in on the chance of getting some
Wireless Christmas Light by October 2015, it would seem a tad out of place.
Timing was apparently not one of Chris Higgins & Hardeep Johar strong
suits; it took them quite awhile to develope the Wireless charging technology
to power the LED Lights.
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So
what makes their product so special and worth supporting anyway, even if you
won't get in it time for Christmas 2014?
Aura Wireless Christmas
Lighting System - Wireless Power Transfer for Christmas Tree Lights
As
per the description in their Aura Website,
the Aura
Wireless Christmas Lighting System uses a magnetic loop to induce power
into the LED Light bulbs.
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This
suggests that it gives off a high frequency fluctuating Magnetic field as
described in my blog
article entitled “KAIST
developes DCRS, a long-range Wireless Charging Technology - IEC Charger
Standards now obsolete as KAIST makes an Earth based Magnetar”.
One
wonders if they could have just opted to use Wi-Fi wireless signals instead, being
as their strong enough to power LED, instead of making a customized Magnetic
Loop and Magnetic Induction System for their Wireless LED Christmas Lights.
This as Wireless Power Transfer, albeit reducing the need for wires, actual is
power inefficient.
The
majority of the electricity radiated out in the fluctuating Magnetic field is
wasted, with only the part of the magnetic field focused upwards actually
inducing electrical power into the Bulbs. The Rest that radiates downwards actually
goes nowhere, resulting in a level of inefficiency that may be as high as 80%.
Also
I’m not comfortable with the fact that they’re made of glass with no options
for Plastic albeit I love the fact that they’re controlled via a Bluetooth connection
using a smartphone App.
To
that end, if you ordered the Aura
Wireless LED Christmas Lights, makes sure to order the Multi-coloured ones,
as those will give you loads of fun customizing their lighting options.
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The options for the Aura Wireless LED Christmas Lights aren't as bad as I thought:
1.
Clear Glass (White)
2.
Frosted Glass (White)
3.
Crackle Glass (White)
4.
Clear Glass (Multi-Colour)
5.
Frosted Glass (Multi-Colour)
6.
Crackle Glass (Multi-Colour)
Aura Wireless Christmas
Lighting System - Wireless Power Transfer needs to get Kid-Friendly design
Great
for someone who’s single; what about the man married with kids?
They're
probably take them off the tree and turn the kitchen into a bowling alley, glass
splinters all over the lace when they break a few of them. Not to mention the
dog jumping up at the light in the trees of even the Cat who likes to chase
lizards up inside and who may inadvertently knock them off the Tree, breaking
them in the process.
The
kids in this family in this videos is a bit too well-behaved, making me doubt
that they’d actual see this wireless wonder and not wanna run off with them to
see if they still work in their rooms!
Still
the LED are power efficient...using what little of the 20% of the power that
radiates in their direction. It’s also a great educational toy to get for the
Christmas 2015 for your children. Plus I’m an optimist; by then they may have
opted to use Wi-Fi or ambient Terrestrial Electromagnetic Radiation from Radio
Waves to ambient lighting in the room to power the LED lights, being as they
are so power-efficient and require little in the way in electrical power to be
lit.
I'll
wait for these improvements.....as well as the plastic unbreakable kid-friendly
versions of the Aura
Wireless LED Christmas Lights, an otherwise great concept for the Christmas
2015!
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