Building Beacon: How One Team Built A 25 Foot Interactive Chandelier at Signal

Building Beacon: How One Team Built A 25 Foot Interactive Chandelier at Signal

At Signal, GMunk showed off Twilio Beacon, a giant interactive chandelier that changes color based on the mood of your text. For example, if you hadn’t had your coffee yet at Signal, and texted “I am sad” to the chandelier’s Twilio-powered number, it would change colors to a more somber tone. Once you got that Americano you wanted and texted it “I am happy” the chandelier would brighten up.

With Twilio as a catalyst to power this massive art installment, GMunk also used custom LED lights, sensors, data sentiment analysis, and cameras to monitor and respond to Signal attendees. Once you step foot on the 25’ chandelier, you’ll see the ripples of your step scatter outward until they crash against another attendee’s LED wake.

Learn more about how GMunk and VT Pro Design built Twilio Beacon by reading their post here, and take a look at their thoughts on the Beacon below.

How Did Twilio Beacon Work?

“Essentially, the Beacon became a generative, physical video installation of pixel LED that represented the sentiment of the attendees, and allowed direct interaction with participants. With its large form-factor, being 12’ across by close to 25’ tall, this interaction was rich in visual payoff and was a pleasure to watch excited attendees driving this large piece of LED art.”

What Was Your Goal In Making The Beacon So Responsive?

“All of these components [of the Beacon] were driven by interactive media servers and tracking cameras. At this formation of the four dot Twilio Logo the chandelier above would activate into a more animated sequence of visualized data, highlighting the connection between these individuals. This would create an exciting and vibrant center meeting point to the conference that invites people to explore and interact with one another and served as a strong visual statement throughout the conference.”
 
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