CLOUD LAMP
Smart (SAD) Therapy Desk Lamp
Instead of buying a huge and extremely bright therapy lamp for Seasonal Affective Disorder and leaving it unused during other seasons, I designed a smart desk lamp that has a (SAD) therapy mode, enabling better user experience as well as effectiveness of treatment.
Industrial Design/Engineering Design/Personal Project
It is called Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) or Depressive Disorder with Seasonal Pattern. It is a subset of depression.
WHAT IS ‘SAD’?
The following maps show the typical day light hours of cities in North Europe in December. Day light hours decrease with higher altitude.
Unlike other kinds of depression, SAD occurs seasonally, usually in late fall and winter because of the lack of sunlight (sometimes known as winter blues).
Bright light therapy (BLT) has been proven effective for treatment of SAD and it is commonly recommended by psychiatrists for SAD patients.
BRIGHT LIGHT THERAPY
HOW DOES BLT WORK?
By exposing the user with artificial bright light that simulates sunlight, SAD therapy lamps can shorten the brain's reception of night length and make brain feels like the day length in summer times.
Light can affect mood by
1) directly modulating the availability of neurotransmitters such as serotonin (involved in mood regulation)
2) entraining and stabilising circadian rhythms to help with sleep disorders (rather common in people suffering from mental disorders)
INTERVIEWS
WITH PROFESSIONAL SCIENTIST
WITH S.A.D. PATIENTS
CONCLUDED PAIN POINTS
• Lack of compliance
• Only needed for winter, unused for all other seasons
• Sight glare
• A second SAD lamp on the desk is space-taking and obtrusive
COMPETITIVE PRODUCTS ANALYSIS
PERCEPTUAL MAP
BASED ON EFFECTIVE BLT TREATMENT
DESIGN PARAMETERS
PROPOSAL
1. LOWER BRIGHTNESS, LONGER TIME FOR MORE COMFORT
10000lux is extremely bright and will easily cause discomfort for users over 30min. Hence I selected a longer duration with lower light intensity (5000 or 2500lux) which is more gentle and acceptable.
2. DESK LAMP WITH FLAT LIGHT PANEL
Desk lamp is preferable than floor lamp since it is closer, and its angle is more easily adjusted.
Flat light panel is more effectively achieves a higher light intensity than a ball shape bulb since there is less flux loss to unwanted directions.
3. NORMAL DESK LAMP WITH THERAPY MODE
With the SAD therapy lamp being an everyday desk lamp, the longer treatment time is not as intrusive, and treatment is less effort-intensive that user does not require extra effort in setting up the treatment.
4. WORKS WITH HOMEKIT
1) remind the user
2) intelligently switch on and off Therapy (Sun) mode according to settings
3) adjust therapy intensity based on personalised scenarios
HOMEKIT FEATURES
MOOD BOARD
PROTOTYPE
STAND & BASE
LAMP HEAD SHAPE
SIZE
Based on suggested values and conclusions, I made a mock-up lamp to test the approximate size of the lamp according to my typical work position.
