Get Involved
The Starfield is a canvas. We've developed some animations and interaction methods, but the possibilities are endless. Have ideas for animations? New interactions? Want to develop the infrastructure? Are you a DJ and want to play a set with the Starfield? Sign up here or email lane@thelumineer.com. This project is open source. There is also a getting started guide. We're going to release a simulator soon to help you visualize the display. Stay tuned!
Future Work
The Starfield can be configured to respond to sound, however we’d like to extend that capability to more intelligently interpret ambient music and integrate DMX and ArtNET commands for a more scripted experience. We have experimented with various forms of input devices for interactivity and started developing Circum to make that easier. Other methods of interaction such as converting EEG patterns to light are being investigated.
Events/History
Critical NW 2018
Burning Man 2017
The new strand designs made the installation significantly more robust in the harsh environment.
Critical NW 2017
The debut of the new truss frame and strand design. They made for a much quicker build and strike!
Burning Man 2016
The Starfield's Burning Man debut! We were placed at 1:15 and 1000', a prominent position close to the road between The Man and The Temple. This version was designed to be 20’x20’x20’. Due to construction issues, we only raised it to 20'x20'x10'. The team adapted and quickly jury rigged it for the new height. It was delightful to watch the interactions the first night it was running. We ran into a number of issues with build, rough participant interaction, and the harsh environment. These lessons were incorporated into the design of the next version.
Critical NW 2016
The Starfield’s second year at Critical NW, prominently placed near the HUB (now Ranger HQ). It was the Starfield’s first event as a placed art piece. Currently, this was the last event for the prototype version.
Critical NW 2015
The Starfield’s Critical NW debut as part of Uncle Louie’s frontage. Some friends of the Starfield were camped right next to it and gave reports every morning on the delight it gave the night before. The positive response motivated the development of the next version.
Photoshoot
After the completion of the prototype, Tim Aguero kindly offered to do a promotional shoot for the Starfield. The results were stunning.
Prototyping
The first prototyping work for the Starfield began in the Winter of 2014. It started with a simulator that allowed the development of animation algorithms without the hardware. Eventually, the first strands came together, then a whole panel, and finally the full 7’x4’x5’ prototype. That version would continue going to events through midsummer 2016.
Technical Details
The Starfield uses 280 WS2812B LEDs driven by a FadeCandy and Raspberry Pi Model B+. The control software runs on another computer and communicates with the Fadecandy server using the Open Pixel Control protocol. For more details, visit the GitHub or documentation pages.