back in 2021, when we decided to form our own electrical engineering design firm called Canopy Design Lab. As experts in hardware design and embedded systems, we got the chance to work on plenty of really exciting projects. We were also always on the hunt for a project to call our own.
One day, while Mike was finishing his instrument rating as a private pilot, he saw a handmade weather map hanging in the lobby that used LED's to display airport conditions. It was built from a paper map, with holes poked in the map for the hand wired lights to shine through. A quick Google search showed a handful of similar designs on sites like Etsy and DIY forums, all of which were big, bulky, ugly, and EXPENSIVE. There had to be a better way!
After about 6 months of design iteration, custom software development, and building bespoke equipment, the first LightMap display was born. We focused on the artistic aspect of the display, requiring that it be extremely thin and look like a piece of artwork. We also developed and patented technology allowing us to make displays with complex illuminated shapes that were simultaneously manufacturable in volume and affordable.
Today, hundreds of LightMap displays of traffic and weather are installed all over the United States. We are expanding into retail locations and offering more varieties of maps with all kinds of new data sets including boating conditions, ski slope reports, and city traffic. Follow along as we grow, and please reach out to ask any questions or just say hello!
