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FlowGlow brings light to life.
FlowGlow is an effect lamp that displays realistic fire, auroras, water waves, and abstract patterns directly on its 360° illuminated surface. Unlike a conventional smart bulb, it does more than change color or brightness—it sets the light itself in motion.
Story at a glance
- From lightsabers to living rooms Owners of lightsabers built with the founder’s electronics wanted to experience those light effects at home.
- Developed in-house Since 2022, the complete lamp has been built in-house: hardware, optics, software, app, and 3D configurator.
- Bootstrapped from a garage workshop Funded entirely by the ongoing lightsaber-electronics business—without external investors.
Status: FlowGlow Lighting GmbH founded in 2026 · market launch planned for 2026/2027
Explore FlowGlow in 3D · Press contact
From lightsabers to living rooms
Since 2016, founder and physicist Dr. Frederic Folz has developed hardware and software at SaberTec for real lightsabers—the kind fans, collectors, and cosplayers buy worldwide. Owners of lightsabers fitted with his electronics regularly contacted him to share their fascination with the smooth, flowing light effects. The flame effect was a particular favorite. Again and again, people asked how they could bring that atmosphere into their living rooms without putting a lightsaber there.
That observation inspired FlowGlow. Development began within SaberTec in 2022, translating the team’s experience with fluid light movement, dynamic color transitions, and effects that respond to sound into a lamp for living spaces. FlowGlow Lighting GmbH was founded in 2026, with market launch planned for 2026/2027.
“Owners of lightsabers fitted with our electronics kept telling me how fascinated they were by the smooth, flowing light effects, especially the flame effect. Many asked why they could not bring that atmosphere into their living rooms without putting a lightsaber there. FlowGlow grew from that question.”
Dr. Frederic Folz, Founder & CEO, FlowGlow Lighting GmbH
Developed in-house and built from a garage workshop
FlowGlow is not a relabeled standard product. The team developed the lamp as a complete system—from the electronics, housing, E27 base, and optical diffuser with purpose-designed light-scattering structures to the software inside the lamp, effect generation, FlowGlow Studio app, optional cloud features, and 3D configurator. The same effect technology powers the lamp and its previews in the app and browser, so an effect looks consistent on the lamp and in both previews.
Every effect is generated in real time.
FlowGlow does not play prerecorded animations. Inside the lamp, a dual-core processor—a small computer—continuously calculates all 42 effects while also handling Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. For many effects, it solves the differential equations of physical models in real time. The fire effect, for example, is based on the model of a real flame: the spreading of a hot plasma. That is why the effects inspired by natural phenomena look so realistic.
Early development of FlowGlow took place in the proverbial garage and was financed entirely with revenue from the lightsaber-electronics business—without external investor capital. Given the substantial technical challenges, the work was formally recognized by the state as research: SaberTec received Germany’s research allowance for two R&D projects—lightsaber electronics from 2020 to 2024 and FlowGlow from 2024 to 2026. This let the project grow step by step from years of experience, real operating revenue, and its own research.
AI supports the process, not the creative direction.
FlowGlow describes itself as an AI-first startup. AI supports analysis, documentation, recurring workflows, and development. The product idea, effects, visual language, and final creative decisions remain human-led.
What sets FlowGlow apart
Moving light visible from every side.
Fire, waves, auroras, and abstract patterns move around the lamp’s 360° illuminated surface. The effects remain visible from every side, making the lamp a decorative light accent without a fixed viewing direction. A motion sensor detects the mounting orientation and aligns the effects accordingly—the flame, for example, always points upward, even when the lamp is installed upside down.
Personal lighting moods beyond a fixed catalog.
A Flow combines one of the 42 effects with colors or a palette, speed, and an optional response to music. People can save their own Flows and share them with the FlowGlow community. They can also discover Flows made by others in the public Flow Library. Touching the lamp can also send a light greeting to friends’ lamps—detected by the same motion sensor.
Soft movement and fine transitions.
FlowGlow updates every effect 125 times per second. Its 16-bit color depth creates finely graded transitions, including during slow effects and at low brightness.
Local control without an account.
The included remote and local Bluetooth app control work without an internet connection or account. Wi-Fi is only needed for optional features such as Alexa, Google Home, and remote access. Sound is processed directly on the lamp and is not recorded, stored, or streamed.
See FlowGlow in motion
All 42 effects are available to explore directly in your browser—no download or account required.
Boilerplate
FlowGlow is an E27-base LED effect lamp that displays moving light around its 360° illuminated surface, making the effects visible from every side. Its 42 effects include fire, auroras, and ocean waves and can be combined with personal colors, speed, and an optional response to music to create Flows. The remote and local Bluetooth control work without an account or internet connection. Development began within SaberTec in 2022; the FlowGlow R&D project was formally recognized by the state as research through Germany’s research allowance (2024–2026). Founded in 2026, FlowGlow Lighting GmbH is based in Überherrn, Saarland, Germany, with market launch planned for 2026/2027.
This description may be used, shortened, or adapted for editorial coverage.
Founder and company
Dr. Frederic Folz is the founder and CEO of FlowGlow Lighting GmbH and holds a doctorate in physics. He also founded SaberTec, where he has developed hardware and software for lightsabers since 2016. SaberTec’s lightsaber-electronics business and its development work remain active.
He also remains active in research as a theoretical physicist, devoting himself to an extraordinary phenomenon: “intelligent slime.” At its center are slime molds—fascinating organisms that consist of a single cell, can grow larger than a hand, and, despite having no brain or nervous system, display astonishingly complex abilities. For example, they build robust, efficient transport networks between their food sources—in a well-known experiment, their networks outperformed Tokyo’s rail network. Their behavior can be translated into physical models and algorithms for developing networks. Knowledge from this research also went into FlowGlow’s development, particularly the lamp’s algorithms.
| Company | FlowGlow Lighting GmbH |
| Headquarters | Überherrn, Saarland, Germany |
| Company founded | 2026 |
| FlowGlow development | since 2022 within SaberTec |
| Technological foundation | ongoing hardware and software development for lightsabers at SaberTec since 2016 |
| SaberTec business | lightsaber-electronics business and development remain active |
| Financing | entirely from revenue of SaberTec’s lightsaber-electronics business; no external investor capital |
| Lightsaber-electronics R&D project | SaberTec research-allowance support, 2020–2024 |
| FlowGlow R&D project | SaberTec research-allowance support, 2024–2026 |
| Commercial register | Amtsgericht Saarbrücken, HRB 112311 |
| Industry | Consumer electronics and lighting |
| Website | getflowglow.com |
| Social media | @flowglowlight – Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, Pinterest |
Press contact
Dr. Frederic Folz, Founder & CEO
FlowGlow Lighting GmbH
Brentanoweg 3
66802 Überherrn
Germany
Explore the product in 3D: explore.getflowglow.com
Website: getflowglow.com
