Siemens graduate engineers have developed an innovative geolocation lighting system used as part of the Green Space Dark Skies project to create works of art in national parks and areas of outstanding natural beauty.
The lights, dubbed Geolights, were designed to allow thousands of people to participate in the creation of art exhibits in beautiful landscapes, led by Walk the Plank and commissioned as part of UNBOXED: Creativity in the UK.
More than 20,000 volunteers from all walks of life, including many who often do not experience the beauty of the countryside due to urban, physical or cultural constraints, will create stunning lighting schemes using Geolights that will be captured on film and broadcast as short films online .
Siemens graduates Annabel Ohene and Manchester-based Nathaniel Fernandes worked on the devices, along with engineering interns Sam Rhodes and Sam Newton, who joined the team during the development phase.
The devices developed include GPS-enabled technology along with innovations including the Internet of Things (IoT), real-time location tracking, power storage, and wireless connectivity.
By remotely changing the color of the lights, each participant, or “Lumenator”, will effectively become a pixel within a coordinated image of live artwork within the landscape.
The Geolights were designed to allow thousands of people to participate in the creation of art exhibits in beautiful landscapes. Credit: Green Space Dark Skies, (Dinas Dinlle), photographer: Geraint Thomas
The engineers worked with lighting company CORE Lighting to integrate Siemens processing technology into CORE lights manufactured in Gloucester, using mainly parts supplied in the UK.
Nathaniel Fernandes, graduate engineer at Siemens, said: “Working on this project has really tested what is possible when it comes to self-locating lighting systems in an outdoor environment. It has been great to work on something that has a fantastic social purpose, but also has potential applications in industries like manufacturing and logistics where outdoor geolocation can support automation. It is a perfect example of technology that can benefit organizations as well as people ”.
Robin Phillips, head of Siemens Advanta Consulting UK, said: “Green Space Dark Skies and UNBOXED are leading fantastic initiatives that celebrate both the arts and science. This is a project where the talents of our graduates have truly shone and played a significant role in inventing the technology needed to make this project work on a large scale. We are thrilled to see the screens as part of the events.
John Wassell, creative producer, Green Space Dark Skies and co-founder of Walk the Plank, said: “Green Space Dark Skies celebrates nature, our responsibility to protect it and our right to explore the countryside. Technology is a cornerstone for event lighting – it means event directors can coordinate and automate outdoor displays in new and interesting ways. “
Phil Ion, CEO of CORE Lighting, said: “The technological progress created by the Geolight and its control system is the result of a long design and test work, crammed into a few months. Designing, equipping and sourcing everything in today’s scarce supply market has been extremely challenging in a tight time frame. This innovation has created a concept the event lighting industry has never seen before, allowing any event involving a medium to large gathering of people to be transformed into a massive lighting show and will be considered a key milestone. for event technology “.
The next event will take place on 11 June 2022 at the Dorset Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). Green Space Dark Skies is open to everyone and anyone can sign up to get involved.
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