FabianYesterday, I made my way to Frankfurt. It’s not necessarily the trade fair that’s at the top of my list, as I prefer devices that are easy to install with a plug. However, I had some interesting appointments at the fair and also stopped by Signify, the manufacturer of Philips Hue.
Philips Hue and other “end consumer” products were not the focus of the booth. However, I was told behind closed doors that there is a secret meeting room for retailers where new Hue products are to be shown. My invitation was apparently forgotten again – but don’t worry, I’m already working on a few things. I am always happy to receive further discreet hints, of course.
For “normal” trade fair visitors, however, there were still a few exciting things to discover. For example, a Mercedes Formula 1 racing car, which Signify sponsors. The company also equips some race tracks with lighting installations, such as the street circuit in Las Vegas. There, visitors could try their luck in a small racing game. And look who made it to the top of the leaderboard on Sunday.
More impressions from the Signify booth
In addition, a few other details caught my eye. For example, the NatureConnect Skylight, which can now be used in place of standard 60 x 60 ceiling tiles in appropriate constructions. This component creates a real wow effect with its depth effect and truly natural-looking daylight.
There were also small light boxes in which light sources with different quality levels could be compared directly with each other. I got talking to the experts on site and we decided to make it our mission to explain to Hue fans that the color rendering index (CRI) is no longer that important in modern LEDs.
The street lighting from Signify was also exciting, although I have unfortunately never seen it in the wild. In addition to solar solutions, the “Iridium gen4 Tunable Beam” particularly caught my eye. This street lighting can be used to precisely align the light cone at night in order to reduce the impact on the environment. It is precisely for these reasons that Signify is also minimizing the proportion of blue light in its current models, for example, so as not to attract insects.
I just found it a shame that there wasn’t at least a small corner dedicated to the new Hue products. That would hardly have incurred any additional costs and would certainly have been a great opportunity for the many “normal” visitors to the fair to try out the new Hue OmniGlow Lightstrip, for example…
