reactive sparks: interactive led art responds to traffic

Diese wechselwirkende kunstanzeige nimmt Daten, die sie auf dem Führen des Verkehrs sammelt und zeigt bewegliche Bilder an, die zu den Trägern reagieren, während sie vorbei fahren.

This interactive art display takes data it collects on passing traffic and displays moving images which react to vehicles as they drive by.

Designed by artist Markus Lerner for lighting company OSRAM, the installation samples traffic patterns and maps them onto seven colorful light towers side of the road, each containing over 110,000 individual LEDs.

The waves at the bottom of each panel represent the amount of traffic that has recently passed, while a “spark” that flashes across each screen whenever a new car passes by. The more cars that pass the sensors, the bigger the waves, and the faster the motion.

The installation is currently on display alongside Munich, Germany’s highly-congested Mittlerer Ring, a thoroughfare that conveniently happens to be right in front of OSRAM’s headquarters.

led cube displays 3d images in color

Eine Weilerückseite, berichtete ich über James Clars kühle Würfel 3D, die graphische Darstellungen mit einem Rasterfeld von ungefähr 1000 LED konnten, die an einen automatisierten Steuerpult angeschlossen wurden. Während Würfel Clars einfach erstaunlich sind, können sie einfarbige Bilder nur anzeigen. Jetzt hat eine Firma in China das gleiche Konzept genommen und eine multi-color Version verursacht.

A while back, I reported on James Clar’s cool 3D cubes which could display images using a grid of about 1000 LEDs connected to a computerized controller. While Clar’s cubes are simply amazing, they can only display monochrome images. Now, a company in China has taken the same concept and created a multi-color version.

Created by Chinese display manufacturer Seekway, this prototype 3D LED display cube was created using a 16×16x16 grid of interconnected color LEDs (that’s a whopping 4096 individual diodes).

The system is capable of displaying animations at up to 30 frames per second and each dot can be individually addressed for both color and intensity.

Now that the prototype is complete, Seekway is gearing up to produce versions with grids as large as 48×48x48, which will require more than 110,000 LEDs. Wow.

Linux pic frame gets an upgrade

Vor fast einem Jahr machte ein RedPost Schlagzeilen mit ihrem hackable Linux Bilderrahmen, das RedPost/Kit. Heute verkündeten die Kerle bei RedPost des besseren Installationssatzes, schnelleren, stärkeren Zickleinbruders, das Signbeta.

Almost a year ago a RedPost made news with their hackable Linux picture frame, the RedPost/Kit. Today, the guys at RedPost announced Kit’s better, faster, stronger kid brother, the Signbeta.

While it certainly can be used as a digital picture frame, RedPost’s real mission is to replace wasteful paper-covedred bulletin boards with an electronic version. Pretty much anything that can run in Firefox can be displayed as a Sign.

Like its predecessor, the Signbeta packs a substantial 19-inch LCD screen and looks great hanging on a wall. But this year’s model runs much faster, has 4-times as much memory and comes in a sexy polished aluminum case. Oh yeah, it also is ready to go out of the box.

Within minutes of plugging in the Signbeta, you’ll be up and running. It runs RedPost’s Wicker, a customized version of Ubuntu Linux which boots off a USB flash drive.

The $599 system is powered by a speedy VIA C7-D 1.5 GHz NanoBGA2 Processor, and has 1GB of memory this time out. Under the hood, there’s a VIA UniChrome Pro AGP graphics chipset to power the display. Connectivity is provided by built-in 802.11b/g wireless networking, as well as 10/100 Ethernet, USB 2.0 and PS/2 ports.

You can check out all the details over on the RedPost website. Let the hacking begin!