This Is What Lighting Will Look Like In The Future Thanks To OLED Technology

The biggest development since Edison's light bulb is on its way to illuminating homes everywhere.

OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diodes) is an extremely thin light emitting technology already making its way into cell phones, televisions and other electronics.

Unlike Plasma and other displays, OLED screens do not require a backlight, enabling them to be incredibly thin, according to OLED-Info.com. LG came out with an OLED television in July of 2013 that is the width of a magazine.

Getting the technology into cell phones and televisions that are affordable has been a challenge. Samsung slashed the price of its S9 OLED television by $6,000 but it still costs $8,999.

How soon the technology will be more affordable is unknown. The televisions are expensive to manufacture and hard to recommend with comparable picture quality in others, according to Ty Pendlebury at CNET.

Philips sells an OLED table lamp for $336 but outside of a living room with a modern design, it would look silly.

There are some OLED lamps appearing that provide the unmatched color purity and efficiency in style.

Australian designer Andy Zhou created an overhead OLED lamp that takes advantage of the technology's flexibility and thin profile.

The Plus Pendant light uses 39 mobile OLED panels that can be shaped to preference. The panels can be turned toward one another to create a spotlight or outward to illuminate a larger area. The light's intensity is also variable.

CSIRO, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation in Australia, is focusing on flexible electronics and supported Zhou's design.

The Plus pendant is not currently for sale, but it's a sign of hope for the future of creative OLED designs in the home.

Here is a YouTube video showing the Plus Pendant in action.