Combining art with technology using industrial means

Jul 6, 2015 08:06 GMT  ·  By

Painting with RGB LEDs is something the folks at Carnegie Mellon have been doing for some time. Painstakingly staying in one place with LEDs in different colors to replicate or draw a certain image strained the human physical condition.

However, the guys at Carnegie Mellon did solve this issue by using a massive industrial arm that will keep the LEDs in place long enough and with enough precision to draw impressive replicas of human figures from photos and other drawings. Using DSLRs cameras with long exposure shots of about 25 minutes, the robot arm can actually draw light images in mid-air.

However, while Carnegie Mellon project uses massive industrial robot arms, Ekaggrat Singh Kalsi and Daniel Canogar have managed to create art by using much cheaper and unusual tech. We're talking using a 3D printer to swing and hold BlinkM LEDs in place.

The project generates floating color portraits through this modified 3D printer, akin to forming a hologram line by line. As you would see, using such a machine can actually build the illusion of an actual 3D face floating in midair.

On the other hand, Canogar's project uses twisted LEDs as video walls that produce unique effects at different angles, creating that futuristic club or select bar look from your favorite SciFi movie or game.

LEDs, 3D printers and art have still a long way to go, and much untapped potential is there to be explored.

However when it comes to incredible endeavors of touchable holo-tech, floating plasma displays will soon turn into a real game changer.