Adiel Fernandez

Ambient Data

Overview

As technology becomes ever more ubiquitous it becomes an increasingly dominant visual part of our environment. “Ambient Data” is an installation meant for home use designed to incorporate the data we seek into our spaces while still keeping a warm and human aesthetic.

Three sets of wall sconces from the home furnishing company CB2 were repurposed and outfitted with LEDs. These lights communicate wirelessly with their control interface, a gesture-sensing cube. By positioning the cube on one of its different sides, different light/data modes can be activated. One side causes the lights to glow in a flickering orange hue to mimic warm candle light. Other modes tell the user the high (red) and low (cyan) temperatures for the day as well as the expected likelyhood of precipitation for the day (blue) by illuminating a specific number of lights. A flash of 4 lights on the left and 5 lights on the right indicate a temperature of 45 degrees. The user can also display the temperature at a pre-selected fantasy destination (green).

The cube interprets simple, intuitive gestures to give the user more control. Shaking the cube toggles between sleep and active modes. Rotating the cube like a knob increases (clockwise) or decreases (counter-clockwise) the number of lights being used in candle mode. As a bonus for the user, spinning the cube triggers a rainbow light display.

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Ambient Data Light Test

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Controller Close Up

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