Lunar: An open-source nightlight clock.

When minutes don’t matter, only reference the hour and place yourself in sync with the cycle of night or day with Lunar, a glowing night light and timepiece.  This clock has no hands; it is simply 4” x 4” square with 12 circles that glow to  tell you the current hour.  The back of Lunar is also luminous and emits a soft blue glow onto the wall behind it. Lunar will plug into any US electrical outlet.  It comes pre-programmed to show the current hour but can be reprogrammed to represent differing units of time using the micro-controller.

The front plate of Lunar houses twelve data points (20 millamp diffused LED bulbs) that make one revolution every 12 hours, the back has one 20 millamp LED.

Because Lunar is open source, it can be reprogrammed for a variety of uses:

To Set The Time on Your Lunar

When plugged into the wall:

* The button on the right turns the backlight on/off.

* The button on the left is used to set the time.

To set the time:
1. Plug the light into the wall (for the most accurate time, plug the light in at the top of the hour)
2. The lights will flash on & begin to cycle
3. Press the button on the left when the correct bulb is lit

Tricia, the creator of Lunar says, “Have you ever awoken during the night a bit too groggy to make out the hands on your watch or the clock on the wall?  This night light is intended to allow you, that groggy sleeper, a peaceful experience when trying to determine the time of night. An ambient glow illuminates the hour so that you can easily tell the time and  fall back to sleep for the duration of your night. Lunar also provides enough light to move about. For younger sleepers who may be a bit afraid of the dark, Lunar provides pleasant, soft light throughout the night.”

* Idea for the night light clock & presentation at our ideas meeting
* Make a prototype: 3d print the enclosure in PLA and Laser cut face in black acrylic.
* Test LED bulbs, circuit board design, introduce the Arduino board to the design
* Slim down the laser-cut prototype of exterior box
* Select materials & review
* Move Arduino board to attach at back of enclosure for easy access.
* Edit layers by combining programming  buttons, power source & microchip
* Refine the final design. Each acrylic selected has it’s on intrinsic characteristics

Kickstarter

We raised funds on Kickstarter to produce the first run of Lunar. Click here to check out our successful Kickstarter campaign.