Philips wants to market ‘carpets’ with integrated LEDs

Philips will be working on ‘light carpets’ together with floor covering manufacturer Desso. These carpets contain integrated LEDs, enabling LED lighting at floor level. According to the two companies, the use of LED lighting in carpet can be useful for various applications.

Philips Lighting calls possible areas of application include indicating emergency exits and escape routes by means of LEDs incorporated in the floor covering. The company Desso is said to have developed special translucent materials for this. But Philips thinks that the ‘LED carpets’ can also be used for mood lighting in buildings.

The information shown by the LEDs, for example in the form of pictograms, can only be made visible when necessary. According to Philips, the use of LEDs in the floor covering takes advantage of people’s tendency to be guided by the floor as they move.

The two companies will test the first products together in a number of pilot projects. A brand name will also be introduced next year. Philips Lighting and Desso will eventually jointly serve the market in Europe, the Middle East and Africa with the light carpets.