Ex-Apple designer unveils lightbulb-shaped PC concept

Guillaume Ardaud, who worked at Apple for more than eight years as a prototype developer and designer, has unveiled a futuristic PC concept called the Lightbulb Computer, according to GIGAZINE.

The device is shaped like a large lightbulb and can be mounted on a portable stand or in light sockets on walls and ceilings to project information onto surrounding surfaces. It combines a projector with computer vision to recognize voice commands and hand gestures and to analyze surrounding objects and spaces.

In a demonstration video, saying "Hey Lightbulb" in a kitchen displayed a recipe on the wall, answers appeared on a desk while reading a book, and a large map was projected onto a desk for trip planning. Projected screens can be manipulated by touch and scrolling with fingers, and uses such as displaying smartphone photos on a wall or playing games were shown.

The device can control smart home appliances by recognizing the device a user points at when asked to turn it on, without the user naming it. It can also locate a desired book on a bookshelf and highlight it with light using fast visual recognition of the surroundings.

Ardaud said smart glasses and headsets have limits such as the burden of wearing them and limited interaction, and that using space itself as a screen could be an alternative.

The concept is not yet commercialized. The video was shot with large prototype equipment without video editing, special effects or AI-generated images, and issues such as miniaturization, projection performance and privacy protection remain.