This article was taken from the July 2014 issue of Wired magazine. Be the first to read Wired's articles in print before they're posted online, and get your hands on loads of additional content by <span class="s1">subscribing online.
Straws is the LED screen as pin art; a display that changes shape and colour based on the movement in front of it.
Developed by London-based design firm Seeper, it contains RGB pixels housed on the tip of a moving "straw" and powered by an electric motor. The result: images that emerge from the picture in a series of undulating peaks and troughs.
The display is connected to a depth-sensing camera; each pixel extends or retreats in response to its movement. "It came from this idea of a world where everything is alive and responsive," explains Straws' creator Evan Grant, 33. "If you make a punching motion towards it, it'll create a ripple across the whole wall," says Grant. "If you move gently, you'll get a wave-like motion."
The screen itself works like any normal monitor; Grant then adds depth animations in C++ and OpenGL. Each ten pixel by ten pixel module has its own processor housed at the rear of a 3D-printed frame. Although Grant currently plans to use it for commercial projects, including music gigs and advertising,
Straws could have even greater potential. "My real passion is to use it architecturally," says Grant. "Imagine if you could walk up to a wall and pull a staircase out."
The 2.5 metre by 1.3 metre finished version will be exhibited at the Barbican Centre in London from July 3 as part of its Digital Revolution exhibition. The show will also include displays from artists and developers across art, gaming and CGI. "Our aim is to create a festival of digital culture," says the exhibition's curator, Conrad Bodman. "We want to celebrate artists, designers, filmmakers and game developers who are using digital tools to explore new forms of practice."
Digital Revolution is at the Barbican from July 3 to September 14
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
