Lift breathes new life into lighting, taking it from a plain, inanimate object to a stylish, skeletal, interactive sculpture! This pendant lighting solution uses a series of thermal sensors to know when people are near and it reacts to each individual’s interaction differently. Its 24 geometric LED illuminated petals attached to a single spine flutter gently as someone walks beneath it or will move more dramatically in response to faster movements.

An embedded microcontroller directs each petal’s movement and utilizes nitinol – AKA “muscle wire” – a shape memory alloy that shrinks in length when heated. The resulting motion, unlike that of typical motors, is completely silent, fluid and organic. Lift’s spine is comprised of two parallel strips of brushed aluminum, giving Lift its physical structure while providing power and motion data to the individual petals.

Designer: James Patten