A modular light fixture inspired by the abacus lets you add, subtract and have fun with your light setup!

Abaculux is a modular light fixture inspired by the abacus, an ancient counting tool used for centuries, allowing users to add and subtract as many light bulbs necessary to achieve that prime lighting.

The abacus is an ancient counting frame tool that can aid in addition, multiplication, subtraction, and division. While they have been used for centuries, abacuses are still made today, often with a bamboo frame and sliding wires stocked with counting beads. Taking inspiration from the ancient mathematical tool, designer Pranjal Uday developed Abaculux, a modular light fixture that takes the same shape as an abacus, allowing users to add and subtract light bulbs however they choose.

The Abaculux is a minimalist light fixture, rising as a single standing rod with a collection of golden light bulbs lining it up and down. Outfitted with a flared trumpet base, Abaculux is bottom-heavy with a steady build that manages to carry multiple light bulbs at once. Uday created Abaculux in part to make the energy consumption of light more apparent by revealing to users how much light they use in a visual presentation they can actually count.

When users want to add a bulb to the electrical rod, they can be slid down and onto the dock where they light up once connected to the pole’s conduction terminals. Following the same method, users can add or subtract however many light bulbs necessary for their preferred lighting. The lightbulbs can also be configured in varying layouts, allowing users to bunch the bulbs at the bottom or appear more spread out over the pole.

Designed for users to witness how much energy they consume when using light fixtures like lamps and LEDs, Pranjal Uday’s Abaculux is a clever reinterpretation of the ancient counting tool we’ve relied on for accurate measurement for centuries. Inspired by the abacus’s shape and design, Abaculux is familiar in appearance but unconventional in design, enhancing its ergonomic build and savvy look.

Designer: Pranjal Uday

Users can either let the light bulbs bunch up at the pole’s bottom or leave them to spread out. 

The conduction terminal gives light to each bulb when connected.

The post A modular light fixture inspired by the abacus lets you add, subtract and have fun with your light setup! first appeared on Yanko Design.

This sustainable biodegradable PC didn’t make it to CES 2021, but it could save our planet

A biodegradable PC is surely something that should be setting the internet abuzz, but with the tsunami of information that is the Consumer Electronics Show, it’s really difficult to focus on the truly innovative instead of on the big-brand announcements.

Meet the Pentaform Abacus. It looks like a keyboard because it is one, but lying underneath it is an all-in-one PC furnished with ports wrapped up in a neat, portable avatar… but that isn’t all. The Abacus Basic is also designed out of an entirely biodegradable polymer, so once it gets discarded, the tech can be recycled, leaving the outer body to safely degrade into the soil with zero negative impact.

The Abacus by Pentaform is touted as an eco-friendly and easy-to-use affordable computer built into a portable keyboard. It comes fully ready out of the box, and just needs a display to get started. On the tech front, the Abacus includes the full set up of USB Ports, an ethernet port, HDMI as well as VGA output, a built-in speaker, integrated track-pad, and pre-installed Windows 10 (with an option of Linux too). Everything is built right into the Abacus’ keyboard-esque shape, allowing it to be carried anywhere and simply hooked to a monitor, TV, or projector to power it. In doing so, the Abacus brings an unusual experience to computing that isn’t quite like the laptop. For starters, with its $121 price tag, it’s literally a fraction of the price of even the most budget laptops. It’s as portable as a laptop too, but provides the ability to work with any sort of display (even 4K ones)… and it even comes with more ports than most slim laptops can accommodate, and has a quad-core processor with as much as 4Gb of RAM and 512Gb of storage.

The Abacus’ most impressive feat, however, is its commitment towards showing that tech can be sustainable too. In a world that’s literally drowning in e-waste because people want slim products, and slim products are notoriously difficult to recycle efficiently, the Abacus was made with a very clear cradle-to-grave strategy. As an all-in-one PC, the Abacus has 63% lesser of a footprint than a desktop, and with a 31kWh/year power consumption rating, it’s about as energy-efficient as a lightbulb. The Abacus’ internal components are entirely reusable, and its outer body is made to be fully biodegradable. Moreover, even the product packaging is crafted from mushroom, allowing it to easily degrade into soil when inevitably thrown away. Who knew great tech could be cheap, energy-efficient, AND eco-friendly?! The tech giants could surely learn a lesson or two, don’t you think?

Designer: Pentaform

Abacus iPhone Case: For When the Calculator App Crashes

While Apple definitely made it easier to access the calculator in iOS7, you still might find yourself without a way to do math on your smartphone. Maybe the battery ran out, or maybe you’ve found a way to make the Calculator app crash. Either way, you need a “Plan B” for your maths. I present the solution to this challenging equation – the Abacus iPhone case.

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This 3D printed case designed by Joaquin Baldwin provides a fully-functional abacus on the back of your iPhone, letting you work math problems without even slightly draining your battery. And as an added bonus, you’ll get tiny Apple logos in place of traditional abacus beads.

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The Abacus case is available in iPhone 5/5S and 4/4S variants over on Shapeways for $24(USD). While I’ll have to dust off my abacus-using skills, I guess it beats using Chisanbop.

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