The information for this installation is gathered in real time from a building sensor array. The array currently being used for the prototype resides on Canegie Mellon's capmus. Information regarding mettrics from energy usage, to real time CO2 levels can be found in this particular sensor array.

The insatallation shows two dimensional data, meaning it's displaying energy usage and ocupancy information at the same time. The energy usage of a given building guides the turbidity or speed at which the dark waves move through the light. The hue or color intensity is driven by the relative ocupancy of a building. 

For example, if the building was crowded and using a great deal of power, the installation would be wildly active and very saturated with a deep purple color. If the building was empty and not using much power, the installation would be lighter in color, while the animation would be very slow and rarely visible.

The installation is comprised of an arduino driven led matrix. The communication protocol in the model is able to scale to a full 1:1. This means that the same code driving the scaled prototype, can drive the full 8 foot long installation. 

The matrix is comprised of over 500 individual RGB LEDs. Each LED is individually accessable through the standardized comunication protocol. The scaning principle of the display works exactly like any tv or computer monitor, but with far less pixels.