Prototyping journey Insights: Zero Power Indicators: Designing Technology That Rests

What if technology could tell us something — without constantly demanding our attention?

The current Prototype Fund ZPI project by GaudiLabs has been exploring that question through the Zero Power Indicator (ZPI) — an open hardware project aiming to replace power-hungry LEDs with a no-power, minimalist indicator. The idea is simple but radical: create an indicator that only consumes energy when changing state, not when showing it.

As everyday electronics multiply, these small glowing lights quietly waste energy and subtly signal a culture that never truly powers down. ZPI challenges this — technically, environmentally, and philosophically.

Building the Prototype

Over the past months, Miranda and Urs have been researching, prototyping, and testing technologies that could make “always-on” indicators a thing of the past. The goal: to find solutions that are energy-efficient, open, and accessible — not just in code or licensing, but in how they can be made and replicated by others.

The team’s now at a crossroads in development, deciding which technology to take forward into a demonstrator prototype. But along the way, learnings have reshaped how they think about open hardware itself.

What We’ve Learned

1. Openness is more than a license.
   A design that requires expensive equipment or proprietary materials isn’t truly open. Accessibility in making — not just in publishing — matters most.
2. Transparency equals sustainability.
   Proprietary systems often hide their environmental and human costs. Designing for repair, adaptability, and safe materials must be part of openness from the start.
3. Sufficiency is a design principle.
   Sustainability isn’t just about efficiency — it’s about knowing when “enough” is enough. By focusing on sufficiency, Gaudi aim to make technologies that support balance rather than excess.

A Gentle Pivot

“Originally, we planned to finalize one prototype by the end of the Prototype Fund cycle. But as our research deepened, we realized the knowledge itself — our comparative findings and fabrication methods — might be more valuable than a single demonstrator.”, say the ZPI team leads in the Prototype Fund, Miranda and Urs.

“So we’ve shifted focus to publish an open comparative report and fabrication notes, allowing others to explore zero-power indication across different contexts and technologies.”

This pivot embraces the diversity of approaches rather than narrowing them down.

Success Moments

In true GaudiLabs fashion, our success has been steady and intentional. Feedback from people tired of glowing screens and blinking LEDs has affirmed the direction: there’s a growing appetite for calm, non-invasive technologies.

And on a more playful note — watching colors change, particles move, and materials respond to tiny electrical pulses has been pure magic. It reminds us why we build: to make technology a little more human, and a lot more gentle.

What’s Next

ZPI finalizes their report and documentation — to be published openly on a Nextcloud repository — so others can explore, replicate, and adapt ZPI in their own contexts.ZPI is part of our continuing effort to design technology that respects both energy and attention — inviting devices – and us as humans – to sometimes rest.