The New Dyson Lightcycle Morph Becomes A Soft Ambient Light At The Turn Of The Head

Oct 1, 2020 — Dyson launches a new light today. It doesn’t just look nice, its functionality is out of this world; literally — they borrowed technology from the space industry (we’ll get to that later).

They call this the Dyson Lightcycle Morph. There are desk and floor standing versions in both black and white, and they look like this:

It’s a slim design that doesn’t intrude on floor or desk space, and has a swivel arm that allows you to position and aim the light anywhere — like the desk, floor, wall, ceiling, or in my case, I can even imagine using this for product photography shoots.

Dyson believes that good lighting design understands how the human vision and body works, and that people need different types of artificial lighting in the home. With this in mind, and being inspired by natural light, they’ve engineered these machines for versatility; it’s supposed to give the right light, at the right time. Here’s the promotional video:

 

THE LEDS

There are 6 LEDs in the head and they are extremely powerful — and smart. You get as much or as little light as you want or need, and with artificial light that is designed to mimic natural light so it’s as comfortable for the eyes as can be.

Above: cross-section of the light head

The light itself is a very powerful beam of light, but it’s directed downwards so it illuminates what’s in front of you towards your task, and keeps out of direct eye contact, so in that way it protects the eyes from harsh glares. It’s perfect for studying, reading, and in my case, sewing.

It replicates natural light, which is very uniform (so no random bright spots). There’s a sensor that adjusts the amount of light depending on the environment. You’re always getting the right amount of light, so your eyes don’t strain and get uncomfortable. The idea is to get your eyes to work as little as possible.

TASK FOCUSED

With its pivoting arm and head, the light is designed to be task focused. Here are examples of situations that you can use it in:

Above: the light is cast downward towards the task, such as reading

Above: as a desk light for working

Above: you can set the light for Studying, so kids get the right amount of light needed for their eyes. it’s not too much, and not too little. It’s just right. The “study mode” also cleverly adjusts the colour temperature over the day.

Above: you can throw the light at an object, such as a painting on the wall, and it will beautifully highlight it.

AMBIENT LIGHT

My favourite function for this light is as an ambient / mood lamp. You can swivel the head to “click” onto the stem, and the LEDs will channel the light straight down the stem, which results in a soft, warm glow that looks like a lightsaber.

The added benefit to this is a blue light blocking filter. When you dock the LED light head onto the stand, it stops stray light going into the eyes. All the light is directed into the  perforated stem, and this gives off a comfortable 360 degrees, warm glow.

Above: With the head docked onto the stand, it turns into a warm, ambient light.

It’s okay to leave the light on like this overnight or for long periods of time; Dyson has done extension research into the safety of their lights, and have devised a high-tech cooling system so it never overheats.

Above: cutaway view of Docking the light head onto the stand.

To cool the lights, Dyson uses what they call a “heat pipe”; which efficiently moves heat out and away from the LEDs. Dyson says that this method of cooling wasn’t invented by them but borrowed from the space industry. Dyson’s research also shows that cooling LEDs makes them last longer and it maintains their integrity and quality. You basically get a light that’s going to last longer than normal (Dyson says the light quality can last decades).

SMART APP

Here’s how the light is smart. There’s a Dyson Link application that lets you completely customise the light and set different modes and tasks for it. For example, there’s a “wake up” mode that simulates natural sunlight. An “away mode” so the light can simulate occupancy to trick people into thinking someone’s home (so your home doesn’t get broken in to). A “precision mode”, which helps to depict colours accurately; it’s great for applying makeup or for lighting up an artwork or painting on the wall. It displays colours very close to what they actually are in real life.

Above: the Dyson Link app in action.

There are recommended levels of light for studying for kids; there’s a warmer, dimmer light for reading without any discomfort; and there’s a “boost mode”, which runs for a duration of 20 minutes so you are reminded to rest your eyes.

As you get older, you need more light to do the same things, so there’s also a thing called Age Adjust; you can input age into the app, and the light will adjust its strength accordingly.

Finally, there’s a USB-C charger built directly into the machine as well for charging phones and tablets, which is a nice touch.

Above: The USB-C charging port that’s built into the stand.

Above: leaving you with this picture of industrial designer jake dyson (son of James Dyson, the british inventor) and his lightcycle morphs.
The Dyson Lightcycle Morph™ will be available on October 1st, priced at $799 for the Desk variant and $1,199 for the Floor variant. It is available in Black/Black and White/Silver. Buy at DYSON.COM.SG.