It's springtime, so it's about time for me to start obsessing about my burningman project, whatever that might be. I haven't really come up with any new ideas (even bad ones) for the past couple of months, which is cause for concern. But I was sitting at my desk reading about the difference between 29" and 26" mountain bike wheels when an idea popped into my head.
Now, it may not be a good idea, and it might not even be all that feasible, but hear me out. So I was thinking that an LED river might be fun. I mean, what would you expect to see less in the middle of a desert than a river? And the whole glowing thing is always amusing. The river would be made up of individual swooshes (maybe some long s-shapes and some simple curves). Sort of like many slugs lined up next to each other and in a line to form a river shape. They would be made of fiberglass and have a little bit of a rise to them (like an upside-down parabola, and no more than an inch of so off the surface of the groung) and would taper to a point at each end. Put some LEDs in them, and have the individual units sequence to give a flow effect. Maybe build some additional pieces to sit along the river bank. Maybe even some little speakers with burbling water sounds.
I personally would like to see it, but I can imagine that for something like this, every aspect of it would be difficult, and possibly difficult to scale. I'd also be concerned about the power draw. Then again, I saw someone last year with probably a hundred high-powered LEDS attached to his clothing, so maybe it wouldn't require too great of a power supply.
What do you all think? Is this something that I could pull off?
5 comments:
It sounds great. What scale are you thinking? I'd like to see some sketches.
You're in luck because I started working on some LED sequencing code last week. Coincidence? Power will be minimal unless you're thinking really huge. Car battery and 12W solar panel should be good for about 200 super bright LEDs on continuously every night. Wiring and assembly will likely be your biggest difficulty.
My God... a river of LED's? Are you nuts!
I am going to be the killjoy here because the approach to this yearly stress-fest seems to be getting further, further off-kilter every year. How about starting with the goal of having fun? If the art flows from that starting point it's going to be great whatever you do. Keep it simple (I define simple as something that fits in or attaches to your car ). So what do I suggest instead? How about a working shower that looks like a plant, flying carpet, or poodle ( anything as long as it does not look like a shower). It's useful and unexpected. If you are looking for a way to build on your expertise with molds and plastics how about a garden? Rows of clear plastic beets each glowing red from a single LED embedded inside sounds cool to me. Heck the green leafy part will be a pain so how about just having the root pointed up towards the moon instead.
good luck
The river of leds wouldn't actually be a river of leds exactly. Just led illuminated elements that look like a river. Who said my goal wasn't to fall of the edge anyway?
This is a great idea! I like it. It sound like a really cool installation. I'm glad to hear your on board for bm this year again!
wooo-hoooo!
What's fun about making a shower that looks like a plant? LEDs are fun!
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