SonicSG: from floating to sounding pixels

Abstract

SonicSG aimed at fostering a holistic understanding of the ways in which technology is changing our thinking about design in high-density urban city and how its creative use can reflect a sense of place. The project consisted of a large-scale interactive light installation that consisted on 1,800 floating LED lights in the shape of the island nation. These lights were individually addressable through the network and used to generate light and sound effects. The field of light was extended with "sonified personal pixels" that were created by the audience through personal mobile devices. These personal pixels generated a light and sound "texture" that connected visitors to the light field in the river and to each other. In this paper, we describe the design concept, prototyping and, implementation of as well as the user reactions to this interactive public light installation.