South China Morning Post

Touch-activated Tactus lamps are designed to provide connection for the lonely South China Morning Post — Post Magazine / Design & Interiors, 3 June 2020 By Christopher DeWolf

Alexander Lervik created the stone-shaped lamps, which can be connected by Wi-fi to glow red when one is touched, and heat up and flash like a heartbeat when stroked.

What inspired these lamps? "I have been thinking about how in our society there are many people who live alone, especially in Sweden. You read in the papers about people who die and aren't discovered for months. I thought it would be nice if there was something that allowed them to communicate in between nothing and a phone call – because a phone call has an obligation to talk and it takes time.

"I started to think it would be nice if it was a lamp: you need a table lamp somewhere in your home so it could have this function built into it. When I started to experiment with it we discovered existing technology we could use. A lot of it was inside mobile phones that react when you move your fingers over the screen."

How exactly does the lamp work? "It can be connected through Wi-fi – one can be in Japan, another in Sweden or wherever. When I touch my lamp the other one starts to shine a red light. If I continue moving my hand over the stone a small heater inside warms it to body temperature. It feels nice to hold.

"If my mum, for example, is caressing the stone and mine begins to light up, and I do the same, the two lamps start flashing up and down, like a heart."

Is there research behind them? "No. It's more like, as a designer, I have always been fascinated by light and how you can communicate with it. The first object I did over 20 years ago was a door handle with lights: when you lock it, it's red and when you unlock it, it's green."

How were the lamps received? "I had an exhibition in a museum with 12 objects and these were the ones that had the biggest reaction from people. Several people started crying – often older people. It happened five or six times. One lady said she wanted six stones, one for each child and grandchild. People wondered if it could change colours depending on other emotions. Maybe in the future."

When will the lamps be available? "We have developed the whole thing but we haven't set it into production. I'm talking to two producers. Hopefully it can come out next year. Everything is ready."