As part of the design-research project ‘Smart Light for Placemaking’, Studio Philip Ross designed a lighting system consisting of a set of wirelessly connected luminaires and a tablet application on which light can be ‘sketched’. The project aims to explore the potential of modern LED lighting in the creation of ‘places’ in public space, by being able to experience the light as it is being sketched.

Interactive Matter was tasked with the development of the electronics for a set of five luminaires and the wireless connectivity and data protocol.

We have developed and produced the control PCB and the embedded software that connects the luminaire over wifi, and controls 205 individual channels that drive a mixture of warm-white, cool-white and coloured LEDs at a high frequency. The wireless protocol allows for fast data transfer and real-time control by a tablet application developed by Philip Ross.

Assembly of the PCB’s is done in-house on our pick and place machine