The brainchild of Richard Clarkson, the Cloud is an interactive lamp and speaker designed to mimic a thundercloud in terms of appearance and entertainment.
The suspended installation consists of hypoallergenic polyester fluff and a sponge casing, which houses an Arduino, LED lights, a motion detector and some other electrical components. This allows the Cloud to act as both a movement-triggered lightning and thunder performance, as well as a music-activated visualizer and Bluetooth-enabled speaker. Not only can users stream music with a compatible device, the hybrid system can even adapt to any desired lighting, color and brightness. The Cloud is also controlled through a small, wireless remote.
If this is all seems vaguely familiar, that’s because development for the Cloud began way back to 2012. Whereas its original model had subtle light and sound elements, the latest version is bit more robust, packs improved technology, and is able to wirelessly communicate with other Clouds.
“Acting as both an immersive lighting experience and a speaker with visual feedback, this hybrid lamp/speaker introduces a new discourse for what a light fixture could be,” Clarkson tells The Creators Project. “Advances in physical computing and interaction design hardware over recent years have created a new breed of smart objects, which are gaining more and more traction in the design world. These smart objects have the potential to be far more interactive and immersive than ever before.”
Regardless of whether you actually want the lamp/speaker hanging in your living room, bedroom or office, the Cloud 2.0 (as it is called) is a perfect example of a project that has successfully gone from the Makerspace to a product in the marketplace. Want one of your own? Head over to Clarkson’s website, where it can be purchased starting at $3,360. Meanwhile, you can see it in action below!
[h/t The Creators Project]