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Advatek pixel control brings colors to life at Aura Alive

posted in Art
Advatek pixel control brings colors to life at Aura Alive

Organisation: Tricktronix

Executive Summary

Tricktronix, a company specializing in design of interactive art installations, was commissioned to create an original light sculpture for an event called Aura Alive. The event would launch a new display home village, Stockland Aura, in the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, Australia. The theme of Aura Alive was 'City of Color', and the event would launch in November 2022. Stockland Aura is a housing project worth over $1 billion, delivering 20,000 dwellings to around 50,000 people over the coming decades. Stockland, Australia's largest diversified property group, had chosen the name ‘Aura’ to reflect the bright, vibrant, ‘city of color’ at Caloundra South on the Sunshine Coast. (Image supplied by: TRICKTRONIX)

Who is Tricktronix?

Tricktronix specializes in interactive art and immersive experiences.

Lighting sculpture at Aura Alive

The lighting sculpture resembled a geometric crystal.

The Challenge

Patrick O'Neill from Tricktronix wanted to create a design that resembled a geometric crystal to accompany the other large, colorful sculptures at the venue. It was challenging to find the right LED product that would curve and bend to the geometric crystal shape, without compromising on color or vibrance of the sculpture. Patrick learned about PixLite® devices from the Touchdesigner help group on Facebook, where other users said, "You can't beat a PixLite." When Patrick learned that Advatek was also located in Australia, he began chatting with their sales and support team to discuss his requirements for this project. After learning about dithering and gamma correction from the Advatek support team, Patrick could immediately see the difference it could make with his project.

Advatek Lighting's Role

Patrick initially considered the PixLite® A4-S Mk3 device for his project, but quickly realized that the LEDs required for the sculpture could pull more power than the limit for the A4-S Mk3 controller. For this reason, he decided to go with two E4-S Mk3 devices to control the two different types of LED chips required for the project. The PixLite® E4-S Mk3 pixel controllers rely on an external power source, providing the flexibility to control more LEDs for future projects.

E4-S Mk3

PixLite® E4-S Mk3

The E-series LED pixel controller is made for tighter budgets thanks to its ability to drive up to 24 universes of LED pixel control and route power directly to LEDs.

Results

The mesmerizing lighting sculpture was displayed at Aura Alive in Queensland, Australia. Patrick plans to create version 2.0 of the sculpture with interactivity and hopes that it could be installed permanently or go on tour in the future.

I was really impressed at how fast Advatek replied to my query and had so much information and advice to share.

Patrick O'Neill – Lighting Designer at Tricktronix

Location

Sunshine Coast, Queensland - Australia

Went Live - 2022