A look at a large lighting installation at London Heathrow Airport  - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: MK14
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 04, 2016, 01:14:46 pm
content: Thanks for posting the link to that video.I am up to about 22 minutes or so, of it so far, and will watch the rest later.You have been VERY informative, about how you have gone about designing that interesting, lighting feature. I may even see it one day.You clearly have put a huge amount of time and effort, into designing and sorting out your parts of that project. Such as the clever way of limiting the max drive current per row (gentle brightness sharing), and realizing that 12 bits, rather than 8 were needed, as brightness levels. The SPI via AND gate mod is good as well.I was surprised that you needed to use visual basic to "hack" the PCB layout. But I've NOT used the package(s) you mentioned, so I don't know any better. Having such really long PCBs, does not surprise me, if there are issues.

author: RGB255_0_0
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 04, 2016, 01:54:49 pm
content: Wondered what you was up to Mike! No good it seems O0

author: Wytnucls
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 04, 2016, 07:19:20 pm
content: Is that what they spent my Heathrow airport tax on?

author: Len
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 04, 2016, 07:57:34 pm
content: Quote from: Wytnucls on May 04, 2016, 07:19:20 pmBetter than spending it on naked x-ray machines that can't find hidden weapons.

author: hamdi.tn
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 04, 2016, 08:55:56 pm
content: that's awesomevery informative indeed.the project is so big and clearly involved so many ppl on it, how much time took to make it done ?

author: German_EE
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 04, 2016, 09:03:22 pm
content: Apart from the impressive artwork (it really does look like a school of fish) this is an great demonstration of industrial design from the start to the finish.

author: ataradov
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 04, 2016, 10:04:35 pm
content: The video consistently freezes for me at 27:40 mark. If I skip past that time just a few seconds, it all goes on.After a number of attempts it no longer freezes. I guess just a YouTube issue.

author: RGB255_0_0
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 04, 2016, 10:11:28 pm
content: Get the buffering issue there too.

author: hamdi.tn
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 04, 2016, 10:12:08 pm
content: Quote from: ataradov on May 04, 2016, 10:04:35 pmhad the same issue.

author: ataradov
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 04, 2016, 10:13:36 pm
content: Quote from: hamdi.tn on May 04, 2016, 10:12:08 pmIt looks like one of the servers has damaged file. On some page refreshes I get no problems at all and on others, there is an issue. Hopefully YouTube has some system in place for dealing with this stuff.

author: tech5940
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: May 04, 2016, 10:29:23 pm
content: Thanks Mike, I really like these video's of you're led related stuff. Your like the MacGyver of the LED lighting world!

author: mikeselectricstuff
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 04, 2016, 11:00:20 pm
content: Quote from: hamdi.tn on May 04, 2016, 08:55:56 pmLots of people, but an uncomfortably short timescale with a hard deadline for the airport opening (and the seafood stall having to be built after we'd finished)- about 6 months in all I think, with Xmas and Chinese NY (PCBs) in there. The carbon fibre people were running their autoclaves 24/7 for a a few weeks.

author: SL4P
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 04, 2016, 11:01:32 pm
content: Really nice high-level hardware and software design.Ignoring the specific modules and mechanicals, the the concept of how the pieces are integrated is a textbook example of 'plan your work... and work your plan'!

author: Muttley Snickers
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: May 04, 2016, 11:24:26 pm
content: Perfect timing.I slept in and it was too bloody cold so your display came in very handy.Halley's Comet.http://www.australiangeographic.com.au/news/2016/03/eta-aquarids-a-month-of-shooting-stars

author: 3db
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 05, 2016, 08:12:23 am
content: A most elegant engineering solution.Love your work.

author: timgiles
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: May 05, 2016, 10:01:41 am
content: Fantastic video - thanks. Really interesting to see how that type of installation is made up, the reasoning behind the decisions and the engineering that goes in to it.

author: ion
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: May 05, 2016, 10:30:16 am
content: I really like these types of videos - full of useful tips. Thanks for taking the time to put this together.Really interesting seeing what is involved in a project of this scale.

author: German_EE
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 05, 2016, 11:15:24 am
content: Mike, just a thought, if those curved strips of LEDs could be manufactured in straight sections they would make an amazing light. Not only is there controllable brightness but you can actually move the light source left and right if there is an annoying shadow.

author: MikeW
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: May 06, 2016, 10:27:06 pm
content: Quote from: ataradov on May 04, 2016, 10:04:35 pmMe too.Very impressive engineering. Whilst the end product is very cool what really impressed me was the level of thought you clearly put into the actual production and installation process.The luminaire designers at my company are very good at making the finished product look nice, but they make the production guys and installation contractors wish them dead.

author: HP-ILnerd
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 06, 2016, 10:32:58 pm
content: Terrific video, Mike!I always learn something watching your videos, plusimpressiveend result.I wonder who has the record for most appearances of a project on Hackaday? I'd be surprised if you weren't high on the list.

author: mikeselectricstuff
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 06, 2016, 10:48:22 pm
content: Quote from: HP-ILnerd on May 06, 2016, 10:32:58 pmyeah probably but it's hard to search as it's usually a youtube link.

author: Brumby
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: May 07, 2016, 06:07:59 am
content: I have watched this a couple of times. I never cease to enjoy the light show and I find the details you provide about the development very interesting - from the design for simplicity and robustness to the ESD problem with the encapsulation. Good work!Also the other parties are to be commended, especially the artistic team for the sequences that bring it all alive.More of this, please.

author: Synthetase
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: May 10, 2016, 01:45:01 am
content: Excellent as usual Mike. I'd love to see it one day. When I first saw it on your website, I didn't realise just how massive it was. Standing next to one of the LED arcs really gives it a sense of scale. Very impressive.

author: alexanderbrevig
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 10, 2016, 02:49:16 am
content: These project rundown videos of yours is by absolute favorite thing to watch. Absolutely awesome!

author: coppice
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 10, 2016, 06:16:38 am
content: I'm surprised the resin moulder achieved anything like a clear bubble free finish without using a vacuum. They must have some very careful procedures for handling their resin.

author: mikeselectricstuff
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 10, 2016, 09:30:30 am
content: Quote from: coppice on May 10, 2016, 06:16:38 amThere were plenty of bubbles, but they didn't really matter. They didn't have any special mixing gear - they were a pretty low tech outfit.The curing area was their mezzanine office which they'd cleared out to use as it was the only part of the building they could keep at a suitable temperature (it was winter!)

author: hub.martin
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: May 14, 2016, 07:14:44 am
content: Hi Mike,is there something you would do differently with all the gained experience in this light project? For me it seems it can't be built more robust and simpler but I'm sure you come with something.Thanks for this video. I learned new things and was amazed by one meter PCB! Also, your electronics videos inspired me to start my own youtube channel, thanks Mike.

author: mikeselectricstuff
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 14, 2016, 09:56:40 am
content: Quite a few things - we later realised there was no reason for the central pole to be made of carbon fibre.The powerful PC doing realtime rendering could have been replaced with something playing back pre-rendered content.The whole assembly and encapsulation process could have been done a lot better, but we just didn't have any time to experiment with processes.And probably the most findamental thing is that the LEDs really should have been side-facing rather than up/down, as a lot of them aren't visible on the top of the upper layers.There were a few minor electronics things I'd do differently - the shunt regs on the TLC5973's mean it draws about 25% of its full-load power when there aren't any LEDs on - should have spent more time optimising the resistor value, or had a seperate 5V supply.I'd also have used a sheathed cable for the cables to the arcs - 3 cores bundled with cable ties was quite prone to snagging while pulling through, though the fact we had to use LSZH cable limits choice somewhat.

author: ConKbot
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 18, 2016, 06:24:18 am
content: On the topic of the 12 bit dimming for smooth fading, where in the signal chain is the led output 'linearized' (to a human perspective)? The control/com board on each arc? The central brain for it all?I noticed the pinout for the input to the arc com/control board had ground in the center, data and power on the sides. Im assuming you have protection from someone forcing the connector upside-down, and it's easier if the ground isn't somewhere it doesn't belong?