"Surface" Artwork at Perth Children's Hospital
Surface by Geoffrey Drake-Brockman is an interactive light artwork suspended from the ceiling above the walkway which traverses the hospital atrium space.
Light Application worked closely with Geoffrey to deliver this iconic virtual billabong. At the time of installation, Surface was believed to be the largest interactive 3D light matrix in the world. The team continues to work with Perth Children’s Hospital, conducting the artwork maintenance and ensuring its longevity since installation in 2016.
Surface is built from an array of 2080 LED based pixel tubes capable of displaying three-dimensional lighting effects. Four motion sensors installed in the ceiling detect the approximate position of pedestrians walking beneath, triggering patterns through the artwork in real time, like a stone causing ripples as it skips across a surface of water. This makes the artwork wonderfully interactive for children and adults alike and an integral part of the hospitals healing environment.
The pixel tubes that form the bulk of the artwork offer eight vertical pixels of full colour LEDs controlled by a complex DMX based control system. This array is assembled from a series of 144 individual DMX buses, each controlling between ten and twenty pixel tubes. Up to 4000 watts of 15-Volt DC power and 24 DMX universes of control interfacing is provided by each of the six control boards installed in the ceiling. Scheduling of on/off times and generation of three-dimensional patterns in response to motion sensor input is via custom programmed software developed and implemented by Geoffrey. A PC connects to the control boards via Ethernet, and the motion sensors via a Philips Dynalite system, to convert the dry contact closures provided by the motion sensors to RS232 command strings received by the PC and interpreted by the custom software.
The system also provides control of an exhaust fan installed within the ceiling cavity to ensure waste heat generated by the control boards is removed. A Philips Dynalite DMRC210 switches on the 240V supply to the fan in response to a DMX signal supplied by the software on the PC at any time the lighting is enabled.
Surface by Geoffrey Drake-Brockman is an interactive light artwork suspended from the ceiling above the walkway which traverses the hospital atrium space.
Light Application worked closely with Geoffrey to deliver this iconic virtual billabong. At the time of installation, Surface was believed to be the largest interactive 3D light matrix in the world. The team continues to work with Perth Children’s Hospital, conducting the artwork maintenance and ensuring its longevity since installation in 2016.
Surface is built from an array of 2080 LED based pixel tubes capable of displaying three-dimensional lighting effects. Four motion sensors installed in the ceiling detect the approximate position of pedestrians walking beneath, triggering patterns through the artwork in real time, like a stone causing ripples as it skips across a surface of water. This makes the artwork wonderfully interactive for children and adults alike and an integral part of the hospitals healing environment.
The pixel tubes that form the bulk of the artwork offer eight vertical pixels of full colour LEDs controlled by a complex DMX based control system. This array is assembled from a series of 144 individual DMX buses, each controlling between ten and twenty pixel tubes. Up to 4000 watts of 15-Volt DC power and 24 DMX universes of control interfacing is provided by each of the six control boards installed in the ceiling. Scheduling of on/off times and generation of three-dimensional patterns in response to motion sensor input is via custom programmed software developed and implemented by Geoffrey. A PC connects to the control boards via Ethernet, and the motion sensors via a Philips Dynalite system, to convert the dry contact closures provided by the motion sensors to RS232 command strings received by the PC and interpreted by the custom software.
The system also provides control of an exhaust fan installed within the ceiling cavity to ensure waste heat generated by the control boards is removed. A Philips Dynalite DMRC210 switches on the 240V supply to the fan in response to a DMX signal supplied by the software on the PC at any time the lighting is enabled.
Surface by Geoffrey Drake-Brockman is an interactive light artwork suspended from the ceiling above the walkway which traverses the hospital atrium space.
Light Application worked closely with Geoffrey to deliver this iconic virtual billabong. At the time of installation, Surface was believed to be the largest interactive 3D light matrix in the world. The team continues to work with Perth Children’s Hospital, conducting the artwork maintenance and ensuring its longevity since installation in 2016.
Surface is built from an array of 2080 LED based pixel tubes capable of displaying three-dimensional lighting effects. Four motion sensors installed in the ceiling detect the approximate position of pedestrians walking beneath, triggering patterns through the artwork in real time, like a stone causing ripples as it skips across a surface of water. This makes the artwork wonderfully interactive for children and adults alike and an integral part of the hospitals healing environment.
The pixel tubes that form the bulk of the artwork offer eight vertical pixels of full colour LEDs controlled by a complex DMX based control system. This array is assembled from a series of 144 individual DMX buses, each controlling between ten and twenty pixel tubes. Up to 4000 watts of 15-Volt DC power and 24 DMX universes of control interfacing is provided by each of the six control boards installed in the ceiling. Scheduling of on/off times and generation of three-dimensional patterns in response to motion sensor input is via custom programmed software developed and implemented by Geoffrey. A PC connects to the control boards via Ethernet, and the motion sensors via a Philips Dynalite system, to convert the dry contact closures provided by the motion sensors to RS232 command strings received by the PC and interpreted by the custom software.
The system also provides control of an exhaust fan installed within the ceiling cavity to ensure waste heat generated by the control boards is removed. A Philips Dynalite DMRC210 switches on the 240V supply to the fan in response to a DMX signal supplied by the software on the PC at any time the lighting is enabled.