Description

‘Pulse of the City’ – We were contacted by Tobias K. on February 4th, 2010, representing BlueMars, a web-design firm in Frankfurt. Tobias requested the use of our eightCubed in a temporary light installation for the coming Luminale festival (April 11-16, 2010). We worked with BlueMars to validate an artistic plan for what this installation should look like and how it would function. The result was sixteen (16) 8x8x8 RGB LED cubes arranged in a line, to show various animations based on external data.

Development

First, we needed the hardware. Lumisense designed a networking solution ratsnest to connect the cubes for central operation. This involved three levels of control:

  • - Controller for each lattice – a modified Delcon v2.3
  • - Cluster controller, connecting the Delcons, named Clustercon v1.0
  • - PC host to activate animations and interface with the Clustercon

Next, the bulk orders were made – 8,840 LEDs, 1,000 brass rods, hundreds of IDC connectors and feet of ribbon cable, among many other items, came to the basement of Frankfurt’s stock exchange building (IHK). Here would be where the cubes are assembled and (above ground) the final installation displayed.

In mid-March, Lumisense visited Frankfurt to begin the cube construction. We met with our BlueMars partners (1,2,3) and started to build this monster! In knowing the cubes were a large feat, BlueMars hired some students to complete a majority of the assembly. A big thanks to these guys and gals, we could not have completed this without you! Sixteen lattices and sub assemblies were completed in four weeks with all of their help.

In late March, we saw, for the first time, multiple cubes next to each other, animated and in working glory! Finally completing the last lattice around the 5th of April, and having columns on hand for their protection, the rest of the Delcon controllers and lattices were connected then arranged in their casings. Over the next days, the students, BlueMars, and Lumisense put in many long nights to complete animations, firmware, column assembly, lattice troubleshooting, and countless other aspects of this project.

Generally, the installation was in place the Saturday before, however not ready for prime time. That night, the first animations operating on all 16 cubes were seen. The build team spent more hours than usual that night in testing animations and seeing results of the last two months. What a sight! The thrill of having a successful design with such a rewarding visual was simply amazing. The festival opened on Sunday, the 11th.

On the evening of the 11th, the Pulse of the City played its opening animation for cameras, bystanders, the build team, and our sponsors. The project was a tremendous success and offered much opportunity for photographers to capture a unique sight. Our sincerest thanks to everyone who participated, our distinguished sponsors, and visitors to the installation over its 5-day exhibit! Now, look below for pretty pictures…

The realistic lead time for this project was eight weeks. This included concept, design, production of cubes and hardware, development of firmware and software, installation, testing, and troubleshooting.

Features and Specs

  • - Sixteen (16) eightCubed systems
  • - Total of 8,192 hand-soldered RGB LEDs
  • - Networked LED cube systems allow animations to span multiple lattices
  • - Cubes handle streamed (SD card) and real-time animations (frames generated from firmware)
  • - Maxbotix EZ0 ultrasonic range sensor at 80cm height on each column, influencing real-time animations
  • - Pre-rendered animations generated from various quantitative data, such as stock trends, Flickr images, and Twitter feeds

External Links

Frankfurt am Main Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IHK) Luminale opening host and Puls der Stadt assembly site
BlueMars – Gesellschaft für digitale Kommunikation mbH Lumisense’s contact in Frankfurt and wonderful group with whom to create such a unique and successful product
Jean Abt Geschäftsführer Cube’s protective column manufacturers

Image

 

 

Video

Puls der Stadt @Luminale 2010

Puls der Stadt Preview #2

Luminale 2010 – Puls der Stadt – Internet bandwidth

Luminale 2010

Luminale 2010 – Hauptwache

Puls der Stadt / Luminale 2010

 

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