Philips Research Press Release

Amsterdam, the Netherlands - Imagine receiving a text message on your couch? Or having the stock market results run across it? How about atmospheric lighting enveloping you while you watch TV? Well the new Philips Lumalive couch can do this and more. It boasts the new state-of-the-art Lumalive light emitting textile technology that can display text, graphics or animations in full-color. Philips will demonstrate the couch at Decosit, the international trade fair for fabrics and furnishings in Brussels from 9-12 September. The couch can be seen in the Decotec section of Alice Town, which is located in hall 12 of Decosit.

The Lumalive couch features Philips’ proprietary technology of integrating flexible sheets of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) into the fabric. It’s intended as a practical showcase of Philips Lumalive light emitting textiles’ potential to transform our homes and professional environments like lobbies and offices through lighting.

Mood machine or messaging board
Lumalive textiles can display anything that a normal LED array can – except it’s flexible and soft! Running text can flow across the couch or dynamic images can appear. Standalone graphics or preset color patterns can create an almost magical lighting experience. Or the couch can color-coordinate with your mood lighting. The most exciting thing though, is the element of surprise. The technology is only visible when it’s turned on – otherwise it looks like an ordinary couch.

Completely unique lighting technology
Philips light emitting textiles are like no other product on the market. The flexible LED sheets that can be integrated into fabric measure 20cm by 20cm and can be combined to cover larger surfaces. In the couch, the Lumalive textiles have been combined with white canvas to create a unique lighting experience. But they can be combined with other types of fabric, with each combination giving a different lighting effect.

“Lumalive textiles are soft to sit on, flexible and they fit invisibly into the upholstery of furniture,” explained Bas Zeper, Managing Director of the business unit Photonic Textiles within Philips Research. “Designers can apply the textiles to any type of furniture. The electronics and batteries are completely hidden and the LED array is waterproof, in case of coffee spills for example. What’s more, the Lumalive technology is so economical that the whole couch only consumes the same electricity as a 20W light bulb.”

Only the beginning
Why a couch? “Almost everyone has one in their home and it has a large surface area so it’s the perfect way to show how Lumalive textiles can be used in the home, and also in a professional setting like a hotel or office lobby,” explained Sander van der Lande, Director of Artifort, a leading supplier of design furniture in the Netherlands. “The possibilities are limitless” adds Zeper, “Curtains, carpets, rugs, cushions… who knows what will be next. Lumalive textiles are even being used in clothing.”

We could see products like this appearing on the high street as early as next year. It’s in the hands of designers to see what they can do with the fabric. Philips is also looking for business partners in the textile industry to think along with it and develop new fabrics that will take the possibilities even further. The Lumalive textiles themselves are still being developed for commercial use and will be available to the market in 2007.


High-resolution pictures are available from:

+ http://www.research.philips.com/newscenter/pictures/
060904-decosit-pict.html

 

For further information please contact:
 

Philips Research
E-mail: photonictextiles@philips.com

For media inquiries only:
Saskia Maas, PR Department Philips Research
Tel: +31 40 2746208
Email: saskia.maas@philips.com

 

About Royal Philips Electronics

Royal Philips Electronics of the Netherlands (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHI) is a global leader in healthcare, lighting and consumer lifestyle, delivering people-centric, innovative products, services and solutions through the brand promise of “sense and simplicity”. Headquartered in the Netherlands, Philips employs approximately 134,200 employees in more than 60 countries worldwide. With sales of EUR 27 billion in 2007, the company is a market leader in medical diagnostic imaging and patient monitoring systems, energy efficient lighting solutions, as well as lifestyle solutions for personal wellbeing. News from Philips is located at www.philips.com/newscenter.