Aalto

The project Aalto was the first implementation of an modular light system which will be the base for several audiovisual lightinstallations and expericneces which will take place in 2018.
in collaboration with:

System

This modular system explores the interaction between shape, light and sonification in space.
It is based on handcrafted modular LED-Bars, which can connected to different forms and shapes. The LED-Bars are made of 3mm white painted MDF and an translucent Polystyrol front element. Inside the Bars controllable LEDs are situated to create the lights. These LED-Bars are controlled via custom PCBs and can communicate with the interface via a WiFi protocol.

SOFTWARE/ Interface

The identified problem for this project was that many designers are able to create stunning visuals in processing inside the main draw() function. But are not able to transfere them on larger light installations. The created software gets rid of this problem. It can import those draw() sketches and interpreted them as effects which can be combined or manipulated via the interface and are outputted on the LED Bars.

The Interface views are splitted in three different parts. The left one is an preview of the selected effect. The middle view is a raw visual impression of all active effects. The right view is a simulation of the current state of the installation. It can be controlled with common MIDI Interfaces.

Implematation

Twenty eight of the handcrafted LED-Bars, produced in rows of waves, serve as a backdrop on electronic music events. Through a visual and haptic interface, light patterns and structures are created, abstracted and combined in live performances. In idle state, the visual output is manipulated by sound input.

The whole system with all of its functions will be open sourced after the first 1.0 release in mid 2018.