Hey CPF! Brightness reactive adjustment on a flashlight?

Hi guys, it's me again. Has anybody seen any brightness sensitive flashlights/flood lighting? It would operate similar to ambient light sensors on computers and such, except the brightness would be automatically regulated by the ambient light(and maybe an infrared rangefinder). This operation mode would be selectable as a "hidden" mode. This way, if the mode is default to be "on", the light would control the brightness to keep it from destroying our retinas. For example, if it is completely dark out, it may go automatically to 100%, then adjust itself accordingly to the ambient light that is reflected from the throw of the flashlight. For example, if you're 5 feet from the wall and accidentally left the light on a high mode, it would either use the rangefinder/ambient light sensor to communicate "oh, i'm throwing out too much light" or "that wall is really close, I'll turn down the brightness". This way, the light is rarely ever "too bright" or "too dim". Lemme know what you think please, or maybe link me to somewhere I can conduct such a project? I see a potential market in this if it hasn't been done already. Anyway, what do you guys feel/think about such a project?

This sounds really familiar, I could swear that someone did it, or tried to. :shrug:

Petzl NAO...

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?331237-New-Petzl-NAO-!&highlight=Petzl

Aww....I'm always at least 2 months behind in my conception vs a marketed release of new technology...I must meditate harder to find true light lol. What would you guys say to an infrared rangefinder though? That might be a nicer/more cost effective touch, no?

My quick thoughts would be:

- IR to sense range and auto adjust would eat a lot of battery power, it would wipe out runtimes in a portable light.
- a handheld light is subject to a lot of movement, much more so than a headlamp - it would be constantly brightening/dimming.
- more things to break and fail.

However, I probably the wrong person to answer... I hate the way machines try and think for us. In my car, for example, I can't stand automatic: transmissions, climate control, windshield wipers, mirror dimming, door locks, etc. etc.

Sorry, not trying to be a party pooper - ideas like your keeps this world moving forward...

HAHAHA you're not being a party pooper at all lol. I agree that certain things don't require such fancy programming, and engineers are making it more efficient ways for people to be lazy/negligent lol. However there are SOME applications that would require computer aid/calculations. For example, military personal might use this technology so their troops don't blind themselves when sweeping rooms in the dark, and will also allow manual activation of modes to disorient enemies and such. (I got the rangefinder idea while thinking about a two decade old "concept" weapon, the OICW, which has a range gauge to program when shells explode after reaching a certain distance. I thought, why can't this be applied to flashlights?) I have many ideas, most of which are either impractical or already have implemented (Solar focused heater "turbines", water cutters, solar cell bladed windmills, satellite mounted anti-aggression lasers, light bending microbeads, maritime deployable wavebreakers, etc. I miss when I was a little snot, ideas came outta my head like diarrhea, but that time has long since passed. Going to school has conformed me and forced me to believe that many science fiction things are impossible! >:O. Anyways, this light i have in mind would have a two stage button, (partially electronic, partially mechanical) which gives the rangefinder milliseconds to gauge the range before you hit the mechanical portion, which would turn the light on, kinda like a half electronic forward clicky. Or the whole switch could be electronic, I dunno. My personal preference is to have SOME kind of tactile feedback that the light is operating, not just having the light pour out the front. More ideas and feedback please!

I once saw "technology" defined as "things that don't work properly yet." It's a somewhat sarcastic definition, but the point it makes is accurate enough: once someone figures out how to make something work just right, people stop thinking about it in terms of needing to be operated and start expecting it to operate itself. You may not like automatic transmissions, but I doubt you get too upset about fuel injection, because fuel injection works right. Part of making things work right is having all the necessary sensors so it can have the same information a human would use when making decisions. Only a few cars have automatic transmissions connected to radar, hill-climb sensors, programming that pays attention to driver agitation, etc., so most automatic transmissions don't shift the way a human would -- but all cars have oxygen sensors and airflow meters and thermometers and air pressure sensors, so they can always produce optimal combustion.

So, a flashlight that can see the ambient lighting, sense the range to the object directly in front of it, and measure glare from reflective objects off to the side, could probably do a good job of deciding what brightness to use. That's the stuff I notice when I'm adjusting the brightness on my lights.

PM sent to OP, dc38

There was a light that did exactly what your asking, I've searched and unfortunately can't find the link, but it is posted somewhere on CPF, maybe this post might jog others memories.

Norm

From 2009:

StarHalo said:

I believe that in time there will be at least a few prototype/one-off lights that feature an auto rangefinder; just as some of the digital features of our modern flashaholic lights would have seemed ridiculous only a few years ago, it's inevitable that of the more interesting but less "realistic" notions for flashlight features will eventually be tested. However I don't think the rangefinder would control focus/beam spread, but rather would simply adjust output. A sophisticated version of this would of course have infinitely variable brightness, but even a crude multi-mode auto-switching mechanism would be very helpful.

I picture a pre-existing flashlight with a large reflector and several modes, say a Fenix TK40, that has an infrared light and sensor package added, (perhaps eventually set into the reflector a la the Surefire Aviator); the sensor simply selects the appropriate mode based on how much of the IR emitter's light it receives. The light itself already has its own hardware and modes, so the addition of the rangefinder would be inexpensive and not all that obtrusive..

Click to expand...

When those lights were featured on CPF I actually thought about buying one. Several members reported that they had trouble making the light work as described, so I took a wait-and-see attitude and never bought one. Much of the information about that light must have disappeared into the great abyss!

StarHalo said:

From 2009:

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Wow lol, go Star!

Would be like an automatic car that decides for you. I would rather be "in control" of the output - but I love any technology.

Touch screen LCD interface with battery level and thermal indicator anyone? Swipe for high, double click to change modes.

ev13wt said:

Would be like an automatic car that decides for you. I would rather be "in control" of the output - but I love any technology.

Touch screen LCD interface with battery level and thermal indicator anyone? Swipe for high, double click to change modes.

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HAHAHA that would be interesting, but at the current level, LCD screens are just a tad too power hungry...You might have to carry some spare batteries just to keep it running. (on a smart phone, at least my evo 4g, the display itself takes up over 80% of the power usage) Even so, you reminded me of a video I saw on youtube, somebody wired his light to run brightness and modes off of his smartphone. Maybe you could take a smartphone and integrate that directly into the programming/physical body of the flashlight? Imagine somebody calling you lol...you'd be holding a spotlight sized phone to your head lol

dc38 said:

somebody wired his light to run brightness and modes off of his smartphone. Maybe you could take a smartphone and integrate that directly into the programming/physical body of the flashlight?

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From 2009:

StarHalo said:

The interface wouldn't need to be complex at all, picture something akin to an iPhone that has an exterior that picks up on physiological response, an interface cam that can monitor ambient conditions and can understand facial expressions, and can also respond to voice commands. Attached to the top/front of this is the emitter unit, about the size of a playing die (which is mostly for heatsinking). You could just say "Simulate household bulb" and it'd promptly shift to a 2700K tint with a nicely rounded color curve, while the display shows you all the relevant charts and data on the light being emitted. Or if you're using the light in a modestly-lit area, should the ambient conditions suddenly go completely dark, the computer/emitter instantly compensates and the user doesn't even notice the difference where the light is pointing.

Click to expand...

Norm said:

There was a light that did exactly what your asking, I've searched and unfortunately can't find the link, but it is posted somewhere on CPF, maybe this post might jog others memories.

Norm

Click to expand...

You thinking on this one?
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb...ex1-Review-Pics-Comparisons-Runtimes-and-more!

dc38 said:

HAHAHA that would be interesting, but at the current level, LCD screens are just a tad too power hungry...You might have to carry some spare batteries just to keep it running. (on a smart phone, at least my evo 4g, the display itself takes up over 80% of the power usage) Even so, you reminded me of a video I saw on youtube, somebody wired his light to run brightness and modes off of his smartphone. Maybe you could take a smartphone and integrate that directly into the programming/physical body of the flashlight? Imagine somebody calling you lol...you'd be holding a spotlight sized phone to your head lol

Click to expand...

Well, using a low power bluetooth chip, you could tie in to your cell phone. But why? You could switch it on and off, read out the temp, select the modes.... Program your levels too.

Would be kind of cool to have, but its more of a gimmick I guess.