Dundee, Scotland, United Kingdom

The design objective of the exhibit, titled 100,000 Lux, was to transform solar data gathered from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) satellite into an immersive multimedia experience that would bring the science of the solar system to life for viewers. As part of the project's design, changes in the sun's temperature, magnetic field strength, and electromagnetic radiation over a 28-day solar cycle would be visualized via modifications in the color, intensity, and lighting effects of the Centre's façade lights.Programmers Erin Michno and Ian Reynolds of local game development company Quartic Llama used ColorPlay 3 to transform the solar data into color-changing lighting displays, while mathematics lecturers Dr. Antonia Wilmot-Smith from Dundee University and Dr. David MacTaggart from Abertay University assisted with concept development and scientific accuracy. To make the exhibit truly immersive, local sound designer and Abertay University staff member Raz Ullah created a generative audio track programmed to react to changes in the visual display through changes in pitch and dynamics.Michno commented on the success of this collaborative lighting project. "We wanted to visually present science as entertainment. The ColorPlay 3 software was flexible enough to allow us to put in video input and create our interpretation of the sun's activity, all projected with LED lighting up the side of the building. We've benefited hugely from the proximity to highly experienced computer scientists and visual artists, which all allowed this incredible one-off performance, powered by the Philips Color Kinetics lighting system."100,000 Lux debuted on November 7, 2012 to tremendous audience acclaim, Michno said. "We're already planning other displays, as we've had such an incredibly positive reaction to 100,000 Lux," said Michno. Click here to see a video of the November 7 performance with commentary from Michno, Reynolds, and Ullah.