When I think of ambient light my mind heads more in the direction of exquisite and singular pieces like Miconos or the recent Bright Side Lights. Perhaps I'm showing a bit of a bias towards the artistically conceived, but I'm usually not charmed by the techie aspects of lighting. However, after seeing the recent tour de force of KOS' kosmic z1 shower cabin, then coming across the intuitive, precision control features of e:cue's Light Drive Elite, I just might become a convert to a more, shall we say… "phantasmagoric" approach to lighting.

Light Drive Elite. Designed by e:cue.

Not that Light Drive is constrained to such showy displays, but the abilities of this "wall-mounted standalone DMX controller and interactive User Interface" to create and manipulate colored lighting puts it at the spirited end of the fun continuum to be sure. Just attempting for a moment to unpack some of that industry speak… DMX control refers to a remote lighting interface for customized light displays. There seems to be some disagreement about what the letters stand for ("digital multiplex" and "digital matrix architecture" being the prime contenders). For our purposes, perhaps all we need to know is that the device features touch-sensitive keys and a color wheel of attractive LEDs. These allow you to stand some paces off while instructing your lights to illuminate, alternate colors, dim or brighten at a customized pace, and display pre-selected modes of alternation and speed for specially-designed effects.

Light Drive Elite looks good too-especially given its typically lowly-decor status as a mere wallplate. The device comes in either black or white and always in high style with a glass surface and aluminum housing. Check out e:cue's Light Drive and other lighting control solutions at IIDEX 2010, September 23-24.