The 2013 film Her starred Joaquin Phoenix and Scarlett Johansson’s disembodied voice, but the movie’s omnipresent user interfaces stole the show. A new projector called Beam might not be able to conjure holographic videogames, but it could help user interfaces permeate our environments in a similar fashion.

Small-scale projectors have been on the market for some time, but Beam is unique in that it is designed to screw into light sockets while pulling double duty as an ultrabright LED lightbulb. This is a simple change to the hardware, but fundamentally changes the way the product gets used. It's not a matter or buying and installing a new gadget, but rather, upgrading an existing one. "Beam is a happy product that wants to help make your life special and more fun," says Jeroen van Geel, Chief Creative Officer at Beam Labs. "It feels like a modern lamp, but when you look closer you notice there is more to this lamp than you thought."

By serving as a light bulb in addition to a projector, Beam becomes a simple upgrade rather than a new appliance. Beam Labs

Beam is more than just a lamp or projector. It connects to iPhone or Android phones via Bluetooth and an on-board computer allows it to deliver content over Wi-Fi. Obvious applications, like streaming Netflix or looking at pictures were a given, but a companion app that allows for the programming of "if this then that" scenarios allows it to be used in new ways.

“Everybody started sharing ideas on where they would place beam in their house, and almost all of them were in a different location,” says van Geel. "We were no longer limited by the traditional spots and could now freely dream up places where we would love to have a screen." Instead of forcing us to look for content in new places, it brings useful interactions to the places we already inhabit.

Beam can be programmed to display content at specific times—imagine welcoming an Airbnb guest once they've opened a smart lock on a door. Beam Labs

Myriad Applications

Each designer brought their own ideas to the table. Literally, in the case of one designer who suggested that Beam could project a game of Settlers of Catan onto a kitchen table after dinner. In the kitchen, instead of precariously balancing your iPad over a bubbling cauldron of marinara sauce, a Beam mounted in a light fixture overhead could project a recipe onto a cook top. Van Geel came up with the idea of prerecording video messages for a spouse, or Airbnb guest, that could be triggered at specific times or based on predefined triggers.

Our homes are becoming increasingly connected and the Apple watch promises to create new kinds of interactions. Beam makes it easy to create outputs for these technologies without forcing us to constantly check our phones. At $399 Beam is not cheap, but as prices fall, it’s not hard to imagine this type of projector proliferating and creating a movie-like environment. "Her is a superb movie that showed people that technology could be an integrated and almost natural part of our lives," says van Geel. "We didn’t look at Her specifically, but in our design approach we look at products as if they would have a personality on their own—so that’s the approach we took here as well."

Beam is raising funds on Kickstarter until March 24th and is also inviting developers to come up with new applications for the device. "People come up with infinite ideas on how to use it and they love to share this with us—of course there also some more unusual uses people suggest to us," says van Geel. "Let’s just say some dark rooms are better suited for Beam than we’d like to imagine."