In the mid-90’s, I was doing on-site freelance design work for a now-defunct firm. The emphasis was on Interior Design for major restaurant chains and the like, but there were four of us designing products at a furious (and often stupid) pace. We had a few relatively big customers, but like most small design firms, we got more than our share of really small clients.

One of those small, prospective clients came in once with an idea for a baton that when waved in the air would light up to spell out words. He was hoping to sell this thing to sports fans so they could use them in sports arenas during night games. I kinda liked that one, but we never worked on that project (maybe because some guy in Japan beat him to the punch – Link).

Fast-forward to the present.

Other than the occasional gimmick product (e.g. TireTagz), I’ve not seen many uses of this technology, and I certainly haven’t seen someone trying to create a 3D image in this way; to use “pixels to draw out a 3D shape”. Maybe that’s common and I’m just unaware, but I thought the above project – to create a 3D POV bonzai from green LEDs was kinda fun. Only, I have to admit, I like the pictures of the devices more than the effect they’re attempting to create. Fortunately, there are plenty of images on the project site (Link).

{Image Copyright © Mike S.}