Through the winter of 2014-2015 (November to May) my art group Recreational Light and Magic  installed an interactive lighting project on the Skykomish bridge.  Skykomish is a small mountain town 16 miles West of Stevens Pass on Highway 2.  Our goal was to create a compelling visual display at night-time that would motivate people to take a stop off of Highway 2 into the town.   As people drove over the bridge, their cars were detected with a sonic range finder and the lights chased along with them.

Skykomish Bridge ProjectSkykomish Bridge Project

In addition to exciting people to drive over the bridge, the animation notified the town that someone was driving in.

Water lights shine onto the beams, "reflecting" the river.
Water lights shine onto the beams, “reflecting” the river.

For the lights, we used outdoor LED lights with color controllers.  We used a sonic range finder to detect the cars, and then we used an Arduino with a DMX shield and dimmer packs to animate the lights.

 

Testing the light animation at home before installation.
Testing the light animation at home before installation.
Testing the Sensor and Tweaking the Arduino Software on the Bridge.
Testing the sensor and tweaking the Arduino software on the bridge.

I t was very cold and wet during our setup.  We cannot thank everyone enough who helped set up in time for the Skykomish Christmas tree lighting party on Dec 6th; and thanks to the town for letting us light up the bridge.

My role for this project was creative director, lighting designer, and Arduino programmer.

The Bridge Project | 2014 | ArtandTech, Installations, InteractiveTech | Comments (0)