Last year, Philips and Desso announced a partnership to develop a light-emitting carpet embedded with programmable LEDs. The companies chose the recent Clerkenwell Design Week to launch the technology in the UK.
The "light transmissive carpet" is much like normal carpet, but has LED arrays built into its underside that shine through to the top. Unlike a projector that displays content on a surface, the visuals cannot be blocked by people walking between the light-source and the display surface.
Philips and Desso suggest that the carpet could be deployed in places such as offices, hotels, conference centers and other public buildings. It can be used to display text or videos for purposes such as signage, providing visitors with information or simply adding to the ambiance of a space.
According to Ed Huibers, marketing and sales director at Philips Lighting, the concept for the LED carpet is based upon people's tendency to be guided by the floor when moving through a space and and to focus on sources of light.
The video below from last year shows the light transmissive carpet in action.
Sources: Philips Lighting & Desso