This is a charming idea. The Good Night Lamp is actually a set of table lamps that you distribute among friends or family. The lamps communicate remotely so that as a lamp is turned on or off by its owner, that action is replicated in the others, giving illuminating little insights into the comings and goings of loved ones – even those on the other side of the world.
You've probably recognized that this is an Internet of Things thing, which is no surprise, coming from designer Alexandra Deschamps-Sonsino, who's been tinkering with Internet of Things things since before the Internet of Things was a thing (or at least, before it was so visibly a thing).
The are no prizes, then, for twigging that the lamps talk to each other across the net. Deschamps-Sonsino filled us in on how these work, explaining that a set will comprise of a Big Lamp and a number of Little Lamps. The Big Lamp is basically the master. Turn it on, and all the Little Lamps turn on too. Give the Little Lamps to your loved ones, and they'll be able to see your comings and goings.
The Big Lamp is Wi-Fi-enabled, and set up on your network with a simple program when you connect it to your Mac or PC. The Little Lamps aren't Wi-Fi enabled, but they're connected to a Power House which is, and which you program the same way.
The idea, Deschamps-Sonsino explained, is that, having exchanged a number of Little Lamps from the sets of friends and family, "you can daisy chain Little Lamps to each other to form a row of little houses, each representing a person's home." These little houses turn of and off as the owners of the corresponding Big Lamps turn them and off. The surfaces of the Little Houses can be personalized with pens that will come with each set.
There's no word yet on the launch date and pricing, though the Good Night Lamp website says that they'll be available by 2013, though you'll be able to catch a sneak preview of it at the Connected Home area at CES 2013 this January. The goal is to make a starter kit "as affordable as possible," and there'll also be an Arduino-based DIY kit for those that wish to tinker.
The promo video below shows off the idea nice and clearly, though it uses what we understand are older, non-house-shaped prototype lamps.
Beats a status update, anyway.
Source: Good Night Lamp
