RGB smartlight presentation timer

Time management is a major tension for presenters, whether novices or seasoned speakers. A convenient timer is key. I suggest making a colour-coded timer using an RGB smartbulb. It can be conveniently placed and controlled wirelessly, giving visual cues with colours and flashing. And when not counting down, it can be used as a nightlight!

Current timekeeping solutions for presentations

• Innate sense of time that comes from talent and/or experience.
  Good if you have that, but this is not a mainstream solution.
• A watch.
  Works OK for long lectures, but kind of clumsy for 3-minute pitches.
• Smartphone timers.
  A typical smartphone has a convenient timer app pre-installed; if not, it can be easily downloaded. Works well for small rooms or informal events.
• Another person to keep time and give signals to the speaker.
  Extra work for another person, which had better been automated to allow everyone to pay attention to the presentation.
  
• Software timers to display on the projector screen.
  (More on that later). Cheap (free) and cover most use cases, but viewability is limited if the speaker turns their back to the screen. Besides, can be distracting to the audience.
• Dedicated auditorium timers.
  There are some advanced products (Alzatex, Time Machines), they are effective and feature-rich, but not portable and very expensive.

The idea

A gap exists for a friendly non-intrusive portable timer that could help keep presentations on time and contribute to the cozy and innovative atmosphere.

Specifically, I propose making a timer based on an RGB smartlight. Depending on the level of technological involvement, it can be either just a smartlight fitting paired with a custom app, or a more mature product with buttons and display.

Depending on how advanced the smartlight is, time can be represented by colour (e.g. gradually changing from green to red), and/or moving colour patterns (if the smartlight has multiple colour zones). The light can also pulsate or flash (e.g. to represent half-time and overtime).

To make sure we don’t create another gimmicky gadget that only gets used once in a while, it can have other functions making it useful in everyday life – e.g. mood light, nightlight, timeboxing anti-procrastination assistant, or even egg timer.

Building a prototype

If this project is picked up by a company experienced in designing electronic products, it will probably happen quickly and look great. But if we decide to hack together a prototype with an off-the-shelf smartbulb and an app, we could do the following:

• Choose an appropriate smartlight. LIFX seems to fit the bill (e.g. their polychrome tube). Install it in a portable fitting, such as a desk lamp (for early prototypes, it will probably need to be mains-powered).
• Use the provided API to develop a simple proof-of-concept app that is able to change colours and pulsate/flash.
• That’s it for the first prototype! It can already be used in presentations (and if the theme is related to innovation – shown off to the audience as a physical example of something innovative).

While we wait

Developing this product takes time. If you have presentations coming up soon, and need a decent timekeeping solution, you can use a software timer. For example, there’s a simple and useful timer written in AutoHotkey available here. AutoHotkey scripts should run on any Windows PC off a flash drive, no installation required.

Submitted by: Ilia Leikin
Hashtags: #LED #Presentation #RGB #Timer
Looking for: startup team to take on the project, established company to create the product
I can: create basic prototypes, test in action
Status: prototyping in progress