eCloud

It is a dynamic sculpture that is inspired by the volume and behavior of a cloud. It’s patterns are transformed periodically by real time weather data from around the world. This piece is part of the Art & Technology program at the San Jose Airport. It is made from polycarbonate tiles that can fade between transparent and opaque states. Liquid Crystal was used along with the use of custom software and circuitry to simulate the look and behavior of weather patterns from around the world. The eCloud has 100 custom designed circuit boards that control the liquid crystal pixels. As information is sent from the master computer, it goes to the circuit boards, then they tell each pixel whether to turn on or off. The collaborators for this project were Dan Goods of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and Nik Hafermaas of Art Center College of Design. Koblin makes great use of the ability to combine art and technology freely and all the resources that are at his disposal.