HISTORY

Inventor Tom Devlin designed his first motorized display lighting for retail display as part of his master's degree at the Royal College of Art in London.  It used stepper motors and required a computer and cables.  Later, he realized that lasers could be used to simplify the control scheme: just point at the one you want to move, then use radio buttons to control.  He patented this idea and pitched the technology to lighting manufacturers, but they were reluctant to take a risk. So he started Loto Lighting to market special gear motors and controllers that could be used easily in existing lighting designs.

Eventually, Tom had to create his own light fixtures.  It was not a challenge since he had been making examples for a few years. The first one was Robo, a flexible, modern design for any size spot light. Next came Tessa.  Then Tom created the motorized gimbal ring for recessed fixtures.  Meanwhile, his manufacturer became very interested in the technology, and together they created an entire catalog of motorized architectural lighting.  Loto Lighting is now part of Formalighting LLC, an international brand with headquarters in Milan, which sells to the industry in USA.

A 25 year veteran of product development, Tom works in the space between art and science as well as engineering and design. With a mechanical engineering degree from MIT followed by a masters of design at the Royal College of Art, Tom was never able to fit in to any category. So he started Devlin Design in Boston to follow his dream of creating and designing products for himself and his clients. Recently he invented Brilliant Pad, a crowd funded product that went on to Shark Tank.  He also invented its predecessor: ScoopFree automatic litter box.  His work with the Cyrano scent player is featured in the Smithsonian Cooper Hewitt Design Museum in New York.