INDN 212: Autonomy Realisation & Inspiration

With respects to autonomy, this one was by far the hardest to define and actually find sources for. Generally, they aren't really thought about much, especially if they're lights which are only there when we really need them to be.

Autonomy: /ôˈtänəmē/

1. (of a country or region) The right or condition of self-government, esp. in a particular sphere.
2. A self-governing country or region.

When I think of autonomy, I think of something that needs little or no input to do its thing. Maybe all it needs is to be activated or maybe even just merely plugged in, and then it will run its own show. The possibilities for this are a little more strange, as we have to think about how this light is going to separate itself from something that is interactive or intervention. 

Image acquired from: http://www.geekalerts.com/

This light was one that we were shown in lecture, and I immediately took a big liking to it, as it really has this fantastic motion that it makes. It coils up, and not in a synthetic way, but in a way that actually feels really natural, almost like a Venus fly trap closing on an insect. The material by which the light is able to do this is called muscle wire, which contracts when a current is applied to it. I think that it's brilliant. I've already ordered some of the stuff so that I can make something with it.

Image acquired from: http://img.directindustry.com/

Another light that is autonomous is the exit light. They're always on at university, but it's when the lights go down in an emergency that they really come into their own. While on mains power, they charge up their batteries, and when the power goes offline, these lights stay on, lighting the way for people who are scrambling around in the dark trying to find the way out. I could possibly do something along the lines of exit lighting, but I'm not really sure there's much to improve on!

Image acquired from: http://blogs.babble.com/

Nightlights function along a similar line to the exit lights, however they work with sensors, something that I think will be an absolutely crucial part of any autonomous light, although, that said, even if you don't touch the light, it's still interacting with it in some way, so maybe for something to be autonomous it really has to be completely independent, aside from the on switch.