Creators Chris Higgins and Hardeep Johar launched their Kickstarter for Aura on Nov 19, 2014. Their goal was to redesign traditional Christmas lights into a version that was safer, longer lasting, and removed the hassle of untangling Christmas lights year after year. For those who are anxiously awaiting a completely wireless future this should brighten up your holiday season.
Aura Christmas lights use a Power Ring at the base or middle of your tree (depending on the size). It connects to an outlet and creates a wireless field that activates the lights. You can also choose to buy a slightly more expensive Wi-Fi Power Ring that allows you to control them and set schedules or timers from your smartphone. Each Power Ring (designed to be easily hidden) can hold up to 100 lights. This set up should take a lot of hassle out of decorating for Christmas and will be a great talking point. As mentioned, it is also a safer alternative that will minds at ease, as the Kickstarter page notes:
“From the beginning, Aura was designed to be a safer Christmas light. By removing the wires that short circuit, heat, or spark in your tree, Aura eliminates the potential fire hazards of traditional Christmas lights. For even more safety, we only use LEDs which produce close to zero heat.”
The Christmas lights offered in this campaign are available in clear, crackle, and frosted glass. You can also choose between white or multicolor sets (red, green, blue, and orange). Unfortunately even though the project launched less than two months before Christmas backers won’t get their rewards until Fall 2015. The creators assure supporters that they will receive their lights in plenty of time before next Christmas, and that they have given themselves more than enough time to ensure they deliver the high quality product promised.
With exclusive Kickstarter ornaments, an early bird price of $65 for one set of 12 lights, Wi-Fi available at $99 and many other options for those who want more (including one pledge level at $5,000 where the creators fly out and decorate for you) these lights seem like a pretty good investment. The creators say that they will last for 20 years at full brightness since the LED lights don’t need to be changed. This allows them to manufacture stronger glass bulbs that will last longer.
This campaign only has a little over $2K to go before reaching their $50K goal and another 43 days left until their campaign closes. Also, they claim that this is just the beginning. The team says they have already started “engaging with artists, musicians, and developers” to explore different music, display, and lighting and features to offer an even bigger variety of wireless Christmas lights in the future.
