Apr 29, 2014 6:30 AM

Gallery: A High-Tech Chandelier That Visualizes Any Data Stream You Like

Photos by IDEO
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Project Edison, a new light installation by a team of IDEO engineers, can dynamically respond to the world around it using input from a variety of data streams.
Photos by IDEO
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Edison is a permanent installation in the central mezzanine of The Epiphany, a new hotel in Palo Alto.

Photos by IDEO
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In addition to putting on a striking light show, it can physically mimic the movement of people walking up the spiral staircase below it, for example, or ramp up its movement in the evenings as the hotel’s bar and restaurant buzz with activity.
Photos by IDEO
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Edison can also link up to other sorts of data streams. It could jiggle with life when someone mentions the hotel on social media, perhaps, or adjust its movement to reflect the day’s weather in Palo Alto. Ultimately, the team hopes to let anyone program Edison’s behavior through an open GitHub repository

Photos by IDEO
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“We wanted to create something that would live in the space and grow with it,” says Brad Simpson, the design lead for the project.
Photos by IDEO
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“We didn’t want to create something that would be static,” Simpson says. “In three years, regardless of whatever’s happening in the world from a data standpoint or a technology standpoint, this is something that hopefully can evolve and grow with that.”

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