Description
The Light Window is an interactive light fixture, designed for rooms that have low levels of natural light. Many rooms in urban centers such as Manhattan have very little natural light. Windows are often small, and often face onto a neighboring building, meaning that direct sunlight is rarely, if ever, able to shine through.
The aim of the Light Window is to provide the ambient light that is missing from such living spaces. Through an interactive interface, the user is able to adjust the level of light that is emitted from the window, and also to select from five different ambient soundtracks. The aim is to give the user the ability to change and improve her living environment.

The Process
We considered how opening a window affects change in a room, and noted changes in sound, temperature, smell and point of view. We decided that the most important attribute of a window was its capacity to bridge an internal environment with an external environment. Through opening to the outside, the inside is temporarily changed.

We decided that we wanted our device to reflect some kind of change in environment, and we identified light and sound as the two most key elements that can be variable in a room.

The Interface
The Light Window is controlled through moving the wooden slats that cross the face of the window. Its design reflects both contemporary and classic design. The wooden controllers cross the window pane, reminiscent of a classic window frame. However, instead of being static, structural components, the wooden controllers are adjustable, and the horizontal slat controls the level of light, and the vertical slat controls the background soundtrack.

The Components
The Light Window takes information from IR rangers to track the position of the wooden controllers. This information is processed through a microcontroller, converted to AC current, and then used to dim and brighten a series of Full Spectrum light bulbs. A second microcontroller takes information from the vertical controller and using a max/MSP patch, selects a soundtrack depending on the position of the slat. In this initial prototype, the audio was played over external speakers, but in a finished version, the speakers would be embedded into the design of the window.

THE STUFF THAT MAKES IT WORK

MAX/MSP SOUND CODE

PIC CODE FOR SOUND

PIC CODE FOR DIMMER

DON'T FORGET TO CHECK OUT THE....

PHOTOS

VIDEO