InventorSpot

Footlume is a new electroluminescent carpet that emits a soft glow as you step across it. Perhaps the next big thing in the world of floor fashions, this pressure-sensitive rug could also prove to be a valuable tool in the realm of "nocturnal home safety". Those semi-somnambulistic trips to the toilet in the middle of the night can be dangerous, you know, especially if you forget where your furniture is and end up stubbing your toe. Hmm. I don't tend to have that problem, but I would imagine a bunch of children's toys strewn in my path might change the risk factor. In that event, this glowing runway could steer me towards a less hazardous course.

But wait, there's more! Not only can Footlume act as a source of ambient lighting, it can also flash in time to music, sure to transform even the lamest of parties into real ragers. Now if it could only make a martini...

Invented by Leona Dean, Zoe Robson, Ashley Kelly and Katie Pickwoad of London South Bank University for a college course, the Footlume runs on rechargeable batteries and uses an electric field to produce visible light. It will be exhibited at the Daily Mail Ideal Home Show in London later this month, and its creators are hoping that it will attract enough attention for commercialization.

Livescience via slipperybrick