TARA
Company Name:
Simon Schmitz
Category:
product design
Project description:
A balancing act. A cause-effect relationship. A head, a counterweight, another counterweight. TARA is a telescopic light source that stays in position wherever you want it to.
When extending the lamps head, a counterweight travels into the opposite direction, always keeping the center of mass in the correct spot. Since the counterweight travels on its own rail, the lamp only extends and retracts on one side of its base – making it space efficient in tight desk situations.
Low voltage electricity runs through the body, making sure there is no cables being stretched or bend in the process of extending the lamp.
What makes it smart / innovative?:
The innovative part of this design is its telescopic mechanism. There is several challenges that come into play when extending a light source – from conducting electricity to keeping the balance.
Naturally when extending one side of a leverage the center of mass wanders with it and the whole structure loses its balance.
With TARA this is solved by a clever mechanism that allows a counterweight to always travel into the opposite direction of the lamps head.
Next to providing the necessary balance, the counterweight mechanism also conducts low voltage electricity, making it safe to operate and highly efficient.
Why is it relevant for the final user?:
TARA has several advantages over an ordinary task light. Firstly – due to the nature of its telescopic mechanism – it only extends and retracts towards one side of its base.
Unlike the architect lamp for instance, which requires space behind it when pushed back, TARA simply retracts into itself. Without losing its balance. This makes it perfect for tight desk situations, whilst providing a large working radius.
Furthermore this principle is possible to adapt for several lighting situations, from task lights to wall and ceiling lights it is a way of always having a source of light at the exact spot you need it.
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