LIFX

LIFX
Founded 2013 (2013)
Headquarters Redwood City, California
No. of locations 2 office (2015)
Founder(s) Guy King, Bevan Clarke, Daniel May, Jake Lawton, Shane Hanna, Phil Bosua
Key people Marc Alexander (CEO), David Kavanagh, Anthony Mittaz
Industry Lighting
Products Color 1000, White 800, Color 650, LIFX App
Owner LiFi Labs Inc
Employees 10
Website www.lifx.com
Native client(s) on iOS, Android, Windows 10
watchOS, Android Wear

LIFX (pronounced Life-X) is a line of energy-efficient, multi-color, Wi-Fi enabled LED light bulbs that can be controlled via a Wi-Fi equipped device such as a smartphone or smartwatch.[1][2][3][4] LIFX bulbs are equipped with a Wi-Fi microcontroller that uses master/slave concept. The master light bulb connects to the router via 802.11a/802.11g/802.11n and then to all the other LIFX bulbs in the house via a low power IPv6 802.15.4 mesh network.[5]

History

The LIFX is manufactured by LiFi Labs, a San Francisco-based company founded by the Australian inventor Phil Bosua. LIFX Labs introduced its idea on Kickstarter and have since attracted large attention.[2][6] Consequently, the company managed to raise $1.3 million in public funding,[3] followed by a $12 million series A investment round in mid 2014.[7] LIFX was also one of the first products to participate in the Works with Nest program.[8] On February 3, 2015, LIFX 2.0 was launched. This included IFTTT integration, remote access and an Android Wear app. In April 2015, LIFX was renamed LIFX Original; two new products were launched that day, White 800[9] and Color 650.[10] On May 16, 2015, the LIFX iOS app gained support for the Apple Watch.[11]

Products

Color 1000

The LIFX Color 1000 is an energy-efficient, Wi-Fi enabled LED bulb with 16 million colors and 1000 shades of white controlled using a Wi-Fi equipped device.[12] The LIFX bulbs only require eighteen watts to produce 1000 lumens. Each bulb is rated to last up to 40,000 hours, or 22 years, depending on the exact usage.[4]

White 800

The LIFX White 800 is an energy-efficient, Wi-Fi enabled LED bulb with 1000 shades of white controlled using a Wi-Fi equipped device.[13] The LIFX bulb is 11 watts (a 60 watt replacement) and produces 890 lumens.[9]

Color 650

The LIFX Color 650 is an energy conservation, Wi-Fi enabled LED downlight with millions of colors and many shades of white controlled using a Wi-Fi equipped device.[10] The colors are radiated at a 90-degree angle.

The LIFX App

The LIFX app for iOS, Android, Windows 10, watchOS and Android Wear manages and controls LIFX bulbs.[14] LIFX lights can also be controlling using Microsoft's Cortana, Google Now, and Amazon's Alexa intelligent personal assistants. LIFX apps for Windows 10 Mobile and Microsoft HoloLens are currently in the works.

Works with LIFX

IFTTT connects LIFX bulbs with apps such as Facebook, Twitter, The Weather Channel and Google Calender.[15] It can also connect the lights with the GPS location of a smartphone and motion sensors.[16]

When the Nest Learning Thermostat notices that you are on vacation, it switches itself on and off throughout the day to make it seem like someone is home.[17]

If the Nest Protect detects smoke or carbon monoxide, LIFX bulbs start flashing red.[18]

When you press Flic, it can turn LIFX lights on or off, change the color and more.[19]

LIFX lights can be controlled using the SmartThings and Logitech Harmony ecosystem.

References

  1. ↑ On LIFX and $1.3M: Will Crowdsourcing Implode?, CEPro, retrieved January 14, 2014
  2. 1 2 Smartphone-Controlled Light Bulb Raises $260,000 on Kickstarter, Mashable, retrieved January 14, 2014
  3. 1 2 LIFX shipping its bulbs after taking Kickstarter by storm, Business Review Weekly, retrieved January 14, 2014
  4. 1 2 App-controlled LIFX bulbs reinvent the humble household light, WIRED, retrieved January 14, 2014
  5. ↑ Smartphone-Controlled Light Bulb Raises $260,000 on Kickstarter, Mashable, retrieved January 14, 2014
  6. ↑ Could BeeWi Smart Color LEDs be the Hue competitor we've been waiting for?, CNET, retrieved January 14, 2014
  7. ↑ Maker Of $99 Lightbulbs, LIFX Gets $12M Series A From Sequoia Following Huge Crowdfund Campaign, Forbes, retrieved August 8, 2014
  8. ↑ "LIFX is now part of the Works with Nest program | LIFX Blog". June 24, 2014.
  9. 1 2 "LIFX White 800". LIFX. LiFi Labs.
  10. 1 2 "LIFX Color 650". LIFX.
  11. ↑ "Wearables". LIFX.
  12. ↑ Aussie Team Re-Invents The Lightbulb, Gizmodo, retrieved January 14, 2014
  13. ↑ "Meet the newest member of the LIFX family". LIFX Blog. LiFi Labs. April 1, 2015.
  14. ↑ "Get the app". LIFX.
  15. ↑ "Enhance your LIFX with IFTTT". LIFX.
  16. ↑ "LIFX Channel". IFTTT.
  17. ↑ "Works with Nest". LIFX.
  18. ↑ Brown, Rich (June 23, 2014). "Developer program makes Nest a focal point for the smart home". CNET.
  19. ↑ "Flic Button". LIFX. Retrieved December 22, 2015.

External links

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