Controlling RGB Matrix Panel with Arduino

Controlling a 16×32 matrix panel requires more understanding of circuitry, and programming.

I have managed to wire the panel, and upload basic sketches however, the amount generating enough power seems to be an issue affecting how the lights are displayed. With insufficient power, the LED panel appears to have a shortage of lights and therefore produces the sketches incorrectly. Understanding power supplies and electrics is crucial as the light installation will be run on this basis. Progressing to the next stage of development will be unattainable without more research into electrical power and lighting. Along with this, I plan to expand the project slowly, and eventually I hope to control four LED panels therefore, this will also require a higher power supply.

Controlling RGB LEDs with Arduino

Being able to control basic colour LEDs was the first phase of development. Controlling RGB LEDs require a little more programming and understanding of how LEDs operate.

I aim to construct my final installation from thousands of interactive LEDs that reflect each observers movement through the the lights brightness, colour, flicker. Therefore, understanding the basic knowledge of RGB LEDs is fundamental to the development of my project.

Fading RGB LED

Choosing colour with processing

By incorporating processing, I was able to control the colour of the LED through clicking a paint pallet on screen.

Powering LEDs with Arduino

For the final result of my project, I intent to produce a light installation that is built up from a number of RGB LEDs. In order to fully understand how LEDs are controlled through programming, I decided to start with the basics.

I begun using the Arduino to control basic colour LEDs and create a simple traffic light sequence.

Incorporating processing with Arduino, I was able control multiple LEDs through placing the mouse in a certain area of the screen.

I have started off with the basics, being able to control a colour LED with Arduino and Processing. The next step for me is to understand how RGB LEDs are controlled with the same software.

Light and Tunnel Installations

The list below shows a number of tunnel installations that use light creatively to transform the space.

The Mood Wall

The Mood Wall by Urban Alliance is an interactive installation in Amsterdam that works with light in tunnel space. The Mood Wall is created through using LED lighting, which is situated behind semi-ribbed transparent wall. The curves in the wall help deter graffiti, and also help improve the look of the installation for viewers outside of the tunnel. The striking arrays of brightly lit LEDs are used to improve the surrounding atmosphere by creating colour intensity around the subject’s movement.

The Tunnel of Love

The Tunnel of Love is another tunnel installation created by Studio Vollaerszwart for the Glow festival located in Eindhoven, Netherlands. The project uses thousands of fluorescent heart-stickers to create an arresting visual spectacle that spans across the tunnel ceiling, walls and floor. Black lights replace existing lights and thus promote the hearts intense glow. For Studio Vollaerszwart, the use of public space is central to all their design activities. They focus on the interaction between architecture, the audience, the functionality and the ambience of a space. By using a simple technique, the installation manages to transform a dreary setting into a magical environment. The enchanting and light space filled with positive energy creates inescapable feeling joy and happiness.

Hundreds and Thousands

Hundreds and Thousands is a tunnel installation made through thousands of LED bulbs. The installation that was created by Design works, in collaboration with The Benevolent Society, incorporates Twitter to create a unique and interactive piece. The more participants tweet, the more the lights react and change. The installation was used to raise awareness for the future of Australia’s children, as audiences where encouraged to tweet aspirational messages.

Artist Inspiration

The space and light are integral components of my project. The installation will certainly be aesthetically pleasing however; I feel that working entirely on a visual level will not be effective enough to attract and engage audiences for long periods of time.

“The Big Picture” Untitled Painting, 195 by Michael Baldwin and Mel Ramsden is another piece that has greatly inspired the project. The artwork is a mirror that aims to capture the surrounding environment and translate it into an ever-changing creation. The reflection contained with in the mirror has the ability to change the spectator into the subject, acting as the frame and the canvas. The frame thus contains and limits its reach, while the canvas adapts and absorbs, creating an ever-changing image.

Similar to Baldwin and Ramsden’s artwork, I aim to add another dimension into the installation. Transforming the audience from a viewer into a participant with the ability to change the visual characteristics adds a greater element to my project, and also makes the project unique and personal to each person.

I aim to connect the light installation to a webcam that will record the spectator’s natural movement. Once the movement has been recorded, it will be translated into the light installation. Each light will flicker in response to the amount of movement. The more movement and activity that happens within the tunnel, the more greatly the lights will change and flicker.

Artist Inspiration

Rafael Lozano-Hemmer is another artist that has inspired my project. The pictures above show two different installations created by Lozano-Hemmer. He uses light as a way of revealing inner aspects of the human. The first photograph shows his Pulse Room installation. In order to create the installation, he took the pulse of each participant and transformed the beat into a visionary light installation. As each participant takes a turn, the light from the previous participant gets pushed further away. Lozano-Hemmer’s Voice Tunnel also has a similar design. Lozano-Hemmer has used a tunnel in the centre of New York City to set up his light installation. The lights are placed throughout the tunnel, and each light is automatically controlled by the voice recording of a participant who speaks into a special intercom situated in the middle of the tunnel. When a person speaks into the intercom, their voice is recorded and reflected through a light bulb. As more people participate, older recordings get pushed away down the tunnel. This aspect of the installation shows that the memory of the installation is always being recycled. Lozano-Hemmer’s installations are both engaging to wider audiences, and also intimate to people who participate.

Artist Inspiration

James Turrell

James Turrell is artist associated with the light and space movement that began in California in the mid 1960’s (Guggenheim Foundation 2013). Turrell works with space and light in order to effect the medium of perception. He combines the two elements as a way to orient toward what perception really is, rather than focusing on the object of perception, he uses his installations to alternatively remove it. Turrell’s exhibitions are intense, fully immersive, sensory experiences. The exhibitions situate an audience in a space that is filled with a variety of intense colours, and appears to have no edges or corners. This clever composition illustrates how the amalgamation of space, light and colour has the ability to remove our perceptions.   Many of Turrell’s installations are powered by LED (Light Emitting Diode) lights, which is a more energy efficient way to work with lighting. There is now an aspiration for more energy efficient lighting technology, and the ubiquity of LED lighting inside buildings and around cities. When producing my installation I also aim to work LED lights as they are not only more energy efficient, they also come in a variety of vibrant colours, they are made from sturdy, solid material, and produce very little amounts of heat. Just like Turrell, I also hope to create a fully immersive experience using LED light sources.

Artist Inspiration

Dan Flavin

Brightly lit settings appear to be more inviting, and introducing artificial light as a substitute for when natural light is unavailable helps to keep public spaces illuminated in darkness. Along with this, presenting artificial lighting in a particular design can also create aesthetically pleasing visuals.

The pictures above show light installations produced by Dan Flavin. Flavin takes banal hardware such as fluorescent light tubes from their practical context and shapes them into minimalistic art pieces. The way Flavin uses light manages to transform exhibition spaces through the way in which the light responds to specific architectural settings. There are no symbolic or transcendent significance attached his work. Flavin thus focuses more on the phenomenological presence of his works rather than narrative implications. In a similar manner to Flavin’s creative style, I aim to take a banal environment and use the luminosity of light to transform the space into an attractive and appealing environment.

Contextualising Space

Natural light is an important element of any location because it is believed to be effective in reducing stress, anxiety and discomfort (Edwards & Torcellini 2002). Most locations almost certainly experience natural day light and darkness at some point during the course of twenty four hours, and now many buildings are being designed to reflect day light in order to save more energy (Johnsen & Watkins 2010). Despite this, tunnels and subways are rare spaces that accommodate darkness for the majority of the day and are rarely affected by natural light. The location, shape and size of a tunnel very much determines how much natural light it will receive. Although I am unable to change the amount of natural light that populates a tunnel, I alternatively aim to enhance the way artificial light is presented with in such a space. Many people appear to shy away from using subways or underpasses in their transportation routes because of the amount of unpleasant darkness that surrounds the space. For that reason, illuminating a tunnel with a composition of responsive lighting will transform the experience of travelling through a tunnel. Filling the tunnels circular shape with bright lights will add greater dimension to the installation and create a more holistic experience as the lights can be fixed onto both sides of the tunnel walls as well as on tunnel ceiling.

Bournemouth holds a dense population estimated to hold 188,700 local residents (Bournemouth Council 2014), and is also home to a number of subways, tunnels and underpasses therefore, it is an ideal location to set up a light installation. In particular, the area of Lansdowne that is situated just outside of Bournemouth town populates a large number of people and a busy high road. The location consists of numerous corporate business agencies, along with smaller independent businesses, fast food cafés, restaurants, bars, a college, a university campus, student accommodation, a large superstore, a train station and much more. The location appears to be thriving with people, and the underpass that connects Lansdowne high road to Bournemouth train station, student accommodation, and a large superstore is a transport route for dozens of pedestrians. Despite the high number of people who regularly use the Lansdowne underpass as their main route for transportation, the surrounding setting still appears to be unkempt and thus uninviting. In addition to this, the area of Lansdowne has also experienced a number of illicit crimes. In 2012 a young male student was found murdered in a flat located not far from the subway and high street (BBC 2012). A year later, a woman around the age of 20 years old was sexually assaulted as she was walking home through the underpass. The severe crimes have undoubtedly influenced the communities conception of the area, and consequently people no longer feel safe travelling through the underpass during hours with little sun light. For this reason, installing a warm, inviting, aesthetically pleasing light installation within the underpass would make the underpass more inviting and hope to cast away many preconceptions of the location.

References:

BBC., 2012. Bournemouth Student Repeatedly Stabbed to Death at Flat. BBC News Dorset [online]. 19 July 2012. [Accessed 02/12/2015]

Bournemouth Council., 2014. Population Trends in Bournemouth [online]. Bournemouth. Research & Information, Corporate & Commercial.

Edwards, L and Torcellini, P., 2002. A Literature Review of the Effects of Natural Light on Building Occupants [online]. Colorado. Department of Energy.

Johnsen, K and Watkins, R., 2010. Daylight in Buildings [online]. Hertfordshire. AECOM.

The Importance of Space Light and Sound

We see our surroundings in the day time, and the same surroundings in the night time, yet we often take for granted how implicit light is to shaping our experience. Slight variations of light can affect a person’s perception and feeling towards a particular surrounding. Spaces that accommodate more lighting appear more inviting therefore, people tend to feel safer during the day when there is sun light. In most public spaces light and sound accompany one another and contribute to creating a locational narrative. To place people in a park during the day time, sound cues may transmit noises of children playing. However, transition a later time and the park is likely to be silent with distant sounds of the wind blowing. The way in which an environment is at certain times populated shows that light and sound both have the ability to shape, reshape, and create our collective notions of the spaces around us.

The pictures show two very different settings however, it is clear to see that the lack of light during a certain time of day affects the inhabitants of even the most busiest locations. Boscombe is a more rural setting located by the sea, and does not happen to accommodate much artificial lighting. In comparison, Oxford Circus that is situated in the centre of London appears to be decorated with an array of glowing Christmas lights. Although both locations are naturally filled with darkness, the artificial lighting that has been set up among the streets of Central London have managed to transform what may have been a glum, dreary setting into a place that looks somewhat magical. This therefore shows the significance of light in certain locations.