Cars Are Now Software Products And So Are Light Bulbs

The Time got ecstatic on the recent Tesla software update. Yes. Cars, like phones, are software products now. I remember back in 2008 I learned BMW's budget for a new car platform was 60% software and 40% hardware. Now the hardware must be even less. At least for the leaders who decided to push the envelope and cross the chasm between hardware and software products.

Light bulbs today are software products too. Back in the old days there were just a handful of bulb makers. It was the heavy industry. Tungsten, glass and vacuum. The factories had to be big and expensive. Today's bulb hardware is like car's hardware: a couple of components: LEDs, drivers, optics, housing. The difference between an ordinary bulb and an extraordinary bulb is in software.

It is the software that defines how a bulb can be dimmed. It is the software that determines what other bulbs or switches or sensors or phones it can connect to. It is the software that defines if a bulb can join a group formation, react to ambient environment e.g adjusting the color temperature to the outside weather or time of a day. And how it saves energy and prolongs the lifetime of it's components by engaging an "eco" mode. Just like Tesla.

It is the software that defines how easy a bulb is to interact with, to be installed and configured. Also how secure it is. Or if it can be upgraded in field. Just like Tesla.

Finally it is the software that defines if a bulb is just a bulb or if it can be something more. Much more. A location beacon, an asset tracker, a member of an information infrastructure network.

Two years ago when I was telling people we had 30 people writing software that run on a light bulb they considered me crazy. Today, at Silvair, we have 80. And they barely cope with the demand. Yes, we are on the other side of the chasm between hardware and software products. But our mission is to give a helping hand to all willing to cross that chasm. Especially to lighting manufacturers: let's do it together - join us in building the lighting of the future. The market wants it now!