Photoreductive Pixel is a modular installation build upon photosensors and LEDs arranged in an array. The amount of light falling on the backside is recognized by a photosensor, interpreted by a microcontroller and displayed by a LED on the frontside. Every pixel has its own sensor and light emitting diode. They can be arranged within modules of nine pixels into arbitrary formations by plugging them together. This results in a pixelated layer as an abstract representation within a room that is based dynamically on light and shadow created by interacting with the object. It is an echo from the digital that gets back to the physical.

I used ATtiny microcontroller, which I programmed with an Arduino, for controlling the LEDs and photosensors which are actually photoresistors. One tiny takes control over two LEDs and sensors. There is also an option to invert the output which means the shadow is displayed as light and in reverse.

The case is made up of acrylic glass, processed with a lasercutter, and screwed into an inner scaffold. I etched PCBs for the SMD components and created an adjustable light sensitivity by replaceable resistors. The microcontrollers can be easily removed for reprogramming or code edits. Altogether Photoreductive Pixel is very alterable and adaptive to various situations.

The idea for the project was born in a course at the University of the Arts in Bremen/ Germany. The course taught by Prof. Dr. Andrea Sick and Prof. Dennis Paul was called “Temporäre Räume” (temporary spaces) and was dealing with theories about physical and non-physical spaces as well as temporality.

Exhibitions:
Best of HfK Design 2012 @ Wilhelm Wagenfeld Haus Bremen – Bremen/GER
HfK Hochschultage 2013 – Bremen/GER
B-Seite 2013 Festival – Mannheim/GER