STMicroelectronics lights up Vivid Sydney 2017

Semiconductor company STMicroelectronics has collaborated with Australian-based artists to create an exhibit called ‘Light of Thoughts’ for Vivid Sydney 2017, running from 26 May to 17 June. Relying on ST’s proximity-sensing and control chips, the installation can be viewed in Sydney’s Macquarie Place Park every evening from 6 to 11 pm.

Assembled by 270 acrylic cubes, the Light of Thoughts installation is built as a giant ‘brain’ in a pixel form that reacts and projects different animations and illuminations based on hand movements. Adjacent to the brain is a control stand that uses two ST time-of-flight proximity sensors to respond to hand gestures made by participants.

Wiping down at the control point activates and triggers changes to animations and illumination inside the brain, representing ‘thoughts’. Alternatively, waving upward recalls thoughts from the original animation. Through the evening, as thoughts multiply, the audio and visual effects become faster and stronger. The Light of Thoughts project records all interactive data in real time via the cloud for traffic analysis.

Making all this possible is ST’s 32-bit STM32F7 microcontroller inside the installation. This high-performance microcontroller powers the wireless multisensor board and the audio/video/lighting control board, which is based on the STM32 Open Development Environment (ODE). The STM32 ODE provides an open, flexible and easy way to develop innovative devices and whole solutions for IoT applications.