Interactive city lighting

Abstract

LED based lighting systems have enabled radically new possibilities in the field of artificial lighting. This is due to in part to the LED being digitally controllable which means this efficient light source can also be integrated with sensors and smart environments. This has opened up a new world of lighting and lighting interaction opportunities that has been applied in new concepts in many of the indoor lighting domains. The outdoor lighting domain however has focused mostly on the LED's efficiency and low cost of ownership to save energy and money for local governments. The use of the LED as a potential means for providing interactive city lighting for social good or entertainment is as yet a fairly unexplored area. This is therefore the focus of this workshop to bring together a community of researchers, designers and technologists to explore the potential of interactive city lighting and how it could support or enhance the lives of those living in a city.

Fiat-Lux

“…A series of workshops presented at DIS 2012 [3], CHI 2013 [1], and NORDICHI 2014 [2] have introduced novel urban interaction design concepts for streets, city parks, and playgrounds. We focused on the designs that promoted responsive systems for experiences with positive emotional outcomes.…”

Beyond the switch

“…After successful 'hands on' sessions during our two last workshops at DIS [2] and CHI [3], where several working prototypes of interactive lighting systems were created, we will apply the same approach for this workshop but with greater emphasis on UI. In the afternoon session the attendees will be divided into groups, each with their own focal area.…”

“…Several core topics were identified for this research area: semantics of light; light applications and technology; multi-user; and interaction paradigms. During a third workshop at CHI2013 [3], we changed scale and went outside to look into interactive urban lighting. In this workshop at NordiCHI, we would like to explore novel and rich ways to explicitly and implicitly interact with light in different indoor contexts (e.g., home, car, office, hospital).…”

Exploration into lighting dynamics for the design of more pleasurable luminaires

“…As more cities councils want to differentiate and promote their city in the world, many turn to city beautification. Strategies for city beautification often include the use light to illuminate buildings and landmarks and interactive and dynamic lighting installations are becoming more common [1,2,14]. One example of an installation that used dynamic lighting was an art piece by Leo Villareal called The Bay Lights [14].…”