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Thread: Aurora - laser illuminated dome for AfrikaBurn 2013

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Dec 2011
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    Default Aurora - laser illuminated dome for AfrikaBurn 2013

    I recently built a custom laser rig as a part of an installation for AfrikaBurn 2013. AfrikaBurn is a Burning Man affiliated event and attracted 7000 people this year. Last year I did this: http://www.photonlexicon.com/forums/...inated-obelisk

    For lasers I used:
    8 x M140
    8 x P73
    2 x 1W DHOM greens

    All lasers knife edged, stacked and combined using scavenged Casio parts.

    I used three cheap scanner sets so that I could have each colour maxed and still produce full separate patterns.

    Electronics:
    2 x hacked sound cards
    2 x laserboy clones, PCB from Simone (thanks!)
    1 x badpip quad driven at 24V

    Software:
    CSound software synth

    The beam was shone through a water lens. Different frequencies created different patterns on the surface of the water. This was then shone through a fisheye lens and onto the inside of an air supported dome.

    Pics tell a thousand words, so:
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  2. #2
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    Absolutely stunning. Thanks for sharing!!!

  3. #3
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    Simply beautiful. Well done.

    I've not heard of using a 'water lens' before, can you elaborate on the technique used?

    Cheers

    Jem
    Quote: "There is a theory which states that if ever, for any reason, anyone discovers what exactly the Universe is for and why it is here it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable. There is another that states that this has already happened.”... Douglas Adams 1952 - 2001

  4. #4
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    I've not heard of using a 'water lens' before, can you elaborate on the technique used?
    Me too! Me too! Please show what you can and tell how you set it up and adjusted it. Are the sounds originating from the music or some other source? And if you were using scanners as well how did they fit into the system? Did you modulate the lasers as well?

  5. #5
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    Ahhh... See here @ post number 60...

    http://www.photonlexicon.com/forums/...818#post261818

    Cheers

    Jem
    Quote: "There is a theory which states that if ever, for any reason, anyone discovers what exactly the Universe is for and why it is here it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable. There is another that states that this has already happened.”... Douglas Adams 1952 - 2001

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jem View Post
    Ahhh... See here @ post number 60...

    http://www.photonlexicon.com/forums/...818#post261818

    Cheers

    Jem
    post 108 Jem.

    Somehow I was expecting water!

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Dec 2011
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    Default

    That's it, yeah. I need to do a proper write up at some stage, but quick answers:

    Are the sounds originating from the music or some other source?
    I used QuteCSound to make a synthesizer: http://qutecsound.sourceforge.net/. I bonded 2 sound cards together under Linux to make a virtual 12 channel sound card. The 12 channels were:
    Blue brightness
    Red brightness
    Green brightness
    Blue X (3 sets of galvos)
    Blue Y
    Red X
    Red Y
    Green X
    Green Y
    Speaker 1 (moving the water lens)
    Speaker 2
    Speaker 3

    Frequency and amplitude was controlled by oscillators, LFOs etc.

    And if you were using scanners as well how did they fit into the system?
    The scanners "painted" the bottom of the water lens.

    Did you modulate the lasers as well?
    Yes

  8. #8
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    Feb 2011
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    Crikey! I think I'll wait for the write up and follow that rather than try to just "throw one of these together myself".

    Thanks
    Last edited by planters; 06-05-2013 at 14:30.

  9. #9
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    robvdv,

    What an incredible project! I'm looking forward to hearing more about the details as well. It would be great to see this at a LEM some day.

    Mucho kudos on this!
    Greg
    "Information not shared, is information lost forever"

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  10. #10
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    San Marcos, Texas, USA
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    Gorgeous! Thank you -

    Tim

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