As an apprentice architect (I have to call myself that legally) and technology geek, it’s no surprise that I really like new cool “smart” technologies. Here are a few new things that have caught my attention recently.

Smart floors will probably become a reality. There are some MIT researchers working on the theory. The friction between your feet and the floor generates the energy they want to harness. They expect a little sponginess to the floor. I don’t think that would be so bad. It would be like walking on one of the newer running tracks.

The future of light bulbs. Our society, actually the entire planet is more and more buying into the Global Warming doctrine. We are quickly getting to the point where the general population won’t tolerate incandescent bulbs. Many of us have already switched to fluorescents. Fluorescent lighting is about 10 times more efficient than incandescent. Fluorescents also contain small amounts of mercury, which most know is highly toxic. While the mercury content is minute, it still poses a problem if your fluorescent bulb brakes. I just discovered that ACE Hardware stores in my area will accept burned out or broken fluorescent bulbs for disposal. I highly recommend everyone check with their local recycling agency to see where you can bring your old fluorescents. If a fluorescent bulb does brakes, put on a dust mask before handling it. Bag it and bring it to a reclamation place like Ace Hardware.

Okay, so now the better news. A fairly new type of lighting that is coming on the scene is LED lighting. It produces hardly any heat and it is roughly 60 times more efficient than incandescent bulbs. LED lighting is expensive, but like anything, demand will cause the price to drop. The next generation of LEDs are called OLEDs. OLED is LED lighting that can be put on large flexible panels. It is expected to be available around 2010. We will be able to put them just about anywhere to create any kind of lighting effect we want. You can have a panel of light on your walls or ceilings, etc. We won’t be forced to have a traditional light fixture if we don’t want one. Another feature of OLED lighting is that you can also control the color of your light. On demand color changes- Cool, huh?

[tags]Smart flooring, LED lighting, OLED lighting, Recycling fluorescent lights[/tags]