Designers Put a Speaker in a Light Bulb

Edited by Stephen J. Mraz

Designers Hoang Nguyen, Poom Puttorngul, and Anh Nguyen wanted a way to clear some of the clutter from their crowded desktops. So they redesigned the light bulb by adding a speaker, thereby letting a desk lamp provide both illumination and sound. The device, not currently in production, is called the Soundbulb. It houses several LEDs and a special lens. It uses standard light-bulb threads, so it can screw into any socket. An 8-in. speaker nestles in the bulb, drawing power from the lamp. Music or sound is received over a Bluetooth or Wi-Fi receiver. A separate transmitter plugs into a wall socket and streams audio signals in the proper format. To adjust the volume, users turn a chrome dial on the bulb. All parts of the Sound- Bulb are replaceable.