Gizmodo
Here's a light switch that was formerly just a concept but has now received UL approval and is actually available: the Essential Wall Dimmer softens the whole light switch experience with its tufted textile sensor.
Just tap this little piece of carpet-looking stuff, and the lights turn on, off or dim. The material is an electronic textile made of conductive yarns, neoprene and acrylic that creator International Fashion Machines calls Plush Touch Sensing Technology.
This $99 dimmer is available in the 14 colors you see here, but it looks like those different hues are just on the part of the switch that mounts on the wall. We're hoping the actual switch feels more like plush carpet than a Brillo pad. [International Fashion Machines]
Comments
Um...??? Ok... I'm not sure how practical that is unless it's in a kid's room. Even then...waste of money? I don't know.
Why would anybody want this?
A prototype of these was installed as part of an "extreme textiles" exhibit at the Cooper Union museum in NYC about two years ago that I saw. The texture on them is more plush-animal than brillo-pad, but they frankly didn't work very well: I had to run my finger over them multiple times to get the lights in the exhibit to dim. I wouldn't recommend running out and replacing your mechanical rheostats with these unless you're the world's richest raver.
Oddly enough, I've seen these before: they were installed in a room of the Cooper Union museum in NYC as part of an "Extreme Textiles" exhibit a few years ago.
The texture is pretty much carpet-like, but the problem is that they really don't work very well. I had to run my finger over them multiple times, pushing pretty hard, to dim the light it was connected to in the exhibit. Unless you're the world's richest raver, you should probably keep hold of your old mechanical rheostats.
feh, sorry about the double post. I swear, I waited 20 minutes for the first one to show up before trying again.
It'd be nice to have one of these in a media room. Want to dim the lights more? Just throw something at the wall.
You could put them on the floor. Then stomp-on; stomp off. I like.
The Essential Wall Dimmers offer a new and colorful way to adjust the lights in your home. All you have to do is tap on the tufted textile sensor and it turns on, off or dims your lights. Each dimmer is handcrafted in Seattle, WA from Designtex wool felt, conductive yarns, neoprene, and acrylic.
While I'm not the world's richest raver (see Dr. Memory's comments), I actually own a pompom wall dimmer. I have it, because I thought it would look cool on my wall (it does!) and I wanted to see how it would work. I will admit there is a slight learning curve, but once you get the hang of it, it becomes a bit addicting. Everyone that visits has to play with it.
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