An AI-powered candle with no fire, smoke or wax has hit the market for nearly $150.
On Oct. 28, Arduboy, an open-source portable game console, released an AI candle
for $149. Described as "the world's first AI-powered candle," it features a neural network of 144 LED lights to replicate a realistic flame. The candle is available in black or white and soon in clear, Arduboy CEO Kevin Bates told USA TODAY.Arduboy says its digital candle has no fire, smoke, wax or wick; therefore, it can stay on all night, while you're away from home or even all winter long. In addition to a flame, the digital candle can depict the time, the brick-breaking pixel game Breakout, notifications, and a digital rain simulation, according to the Arduboy website.
Arduboy's
digital candle was inspired by Ingo Maurer and Moritz Waldemeyer's 2012 art piece "My New Flame," Bates, who has been working on this candle for about two years, wrote in an Oct. 28 blog post. These 35-inch-tall "My New Flame" digital candles can sit on a table, hang from a wall or dangle from the ceiling. A complete set of the "My New Flame" candles, available in black, white or red, costs about $570 on Ingo Maurer's website.
"Practically speaking, I think the digital candle is a conversation starter. To be reminded of increasing complexity, the digitization of the world around us and how it's presented with an enchanting visage. People already buy all sorts of interesting lighting fixtures of all shapes, sizes and price points, this one just has a unique story," Bates told USA TODAY in an emailed statement on Oct. 30.
His statement continued: "I suppose you could say it's 'meant for AI or tech enthusiasts, perhaps people with too much cryptocurrency and not enough things to spend it on. Perhaps hardware developers that collect bespoke electronics projects will find it interesting."
Bates said that initially, only 10 digital candles were in stock, and since the launch earlier this week, a few dozen have already sold. The candle is currently backordered for at least a month, he added.
Here's what to know about the AI-powered candle.
How does the digital candle work?
According to the Arduboy website, the digital candle was trained on phone recordings of a single candle in a dark room. Bates wrote in his blog post that he used an agentic language learning model, an LLM that acts autonomously rather than generating text responses, to train the candle's neural network.
The digital candle is charged via USB-C. A charging dock is included.
How big is the digital candle?
The digital candle is 10 inches tall and 1 inch wide, per the Arduboy website.
Does the digital candle require Wi-Fi?
No, the flame runs entirely on the digital candle's internal circuit board, according to the Arduboy website.
What are people saying about the $149 digital candle?
Not everyone is sure about the digital candle, especially given its current price tag.
One commenter on Bates' blog post requested more real-life footage of the digital candle, rather than the rendered imagery on the Arduboy website.
"Hard to tell how much better this would be than much cheaper LED matrix candles that are already on the market," the user wrote. "An interesting idea would be to add a mic and/or air current sensors to make it react to air currents in the room just like a real flame would (and also allow it to be blown out)."
Bates responded to the commenter, saying he plans to share a video of the digital candle soon.
Greta Cross is a national trending reporter at USA TODAY. Story idea? Email her at gcross@usatoday.com.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: This tech company just released an AI-powered candle for $150
