A few days ago, a photo from 2016 popped up in my memories. Back then, we had strapped a smart Sony watch to Ema’s arm during the night, directly over her Libre sensor, using an elastic band and a 3D-printed holder. That Sony watch did not even have Bluetooth at the time. It read glucose data via NFC and sent alarms to a phone. That was our starting point.
Today, exactly 10 years later, we have a new gadget built on the same idea — but this time, it is a high-quality Croatian product.
As an IT professional who has gone from DIY solutions to today’s Android APS closed-loop systems, I have learned one thing: diabetes should take as little of our time and attention as possible. We want technology that works quietly in the background. Glucolamp fits perfectly into that philosophy.
How does it work, and how easy is the setup?
The installation process is very simple and takes less than five minutes.
- As soon as you turn on the lamp, it creates its own Wi-Fi network, named something like "glucolamp-2b-number".
- When you connect your phone to that network, it automatically takes you to the settings page.
- In our case, we only entered our Nightscout address and the lamp immediately started working.
- The interface allows you to adjust the brightness, glucose thresholds and the colours assigned to different glucose ranges.
Glucolamp sits quietly somewhere in the room and changes colour depending on glucose levels: from red for low glucose, through yellow and green when glucose is in range, to blue and purple when glucose is high.
Although we already have Ema’s glucose data on Garmin and on our phones, and she uses a stable closed-loop system, I find myself checking the watch less and less. Glucolamp, sitting in the corner of the room, is an excellent but unobtrusive reminder.
It briefly stayed in the living room — until Ema immediately claimed it for her own room. Excellent.
If this topic intrests you, we invite you to also read our article "Blood Glucose Measurement — Without Blood!"
Suggestions for improvement
For future software versions, I would suggest adding the option to schedule the light to turn off automatically, for example between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m.
A sound alarm for extreme values, such as below 3.5 mmol/L or above 15 mmol/L, could also be useful — especially for people who still prefer to sleep in complete darkness.
For less technically experienced users, it would be helpful if they could enter their Nightscout address, home Wi-Fi name and password at the time of purchase. That way, the lamp could arrive already configured and ready to use straight out of the box.
The Croatian manufacturer has already informed us that several improvements are planned. 🙂
A gadget that does not disturb you, but tells you everything (Ema’s review)
“With Android APS closed loop, diabetes has become something I barely think about. I check my phone a few times a day, or when an alarm really needs my attention.
As soon as I saw Glucolamp, I moved it into my room. I liked the design immediately, and it does exactly what I need — it reminds me discreetly. The lamp is an ideal visual signal. When the colour is green, I know my glucose is good. I am calm and can focus on whatever I am doing.
It only catches my eye when the colour starts moving toward yellow or red. That gives me a feeling of safety without constantly checking my phone. Simple, useful, and it looks great.”
Conclusion
Glucolamp shows how far diabetes technology has come — from bulky watches strapped to a child’s arm to an elegant light that quietly protects our peace of mind.
P.S. The lamp is already available to order through the webshop glucolamp.com. It is available to buy in almost every European country.
