science

PixMob

PixMob is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand PixMob rather than just read about it. In short: PixMob is a wireless lighting technology of Eski Inc. that controls wearable LED devices: by using the wearable objects as pixels, an event's audience itself can become a display. The light effects produced by these LED devices can be controlled to match a light show, pulsate in sync with the music, react to the body movement, etc.

Key takeaways

PixMob belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect PixMob to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of PixMob from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

PixMob is a wireless lighting technology of Eski Inc. that controls wearable LED devices: by using the wearable objects as pixels, an event's audience itself can become a display. The light effects produced by these LED devices can be controlled to match a light show, pulsate in sync with the music, react to the body movement, etc. PixMob was developed by the Montreal-based company Eski Inc. in 2010. The technology comes in different versions providing different ways to wirelessly control any of the objects. The latest version, PixMob VIDEO, debuted during the Super Bowl XLVIII halftime show.

Technology

PixMob technology uses infrared to light up RGB LEDs that are embedded in different objects such as balls or wristbands. These wearable objects are given to an audience, transforming each individual into a pixel during the show. To light up each pixel (i.e. each LED), commands are sent from computers to transmitters that emit invisible light (infrared). The infrared signal is picked up by infrared receivers in each object and goes through a tiny 8-bit microprocessor to light up the LEDs. The type of transmitter involved differs depending on the selected version of the technology. Wash fixtures or lekos, typically seen in the live entertainment industry, are usually used. For the PixMob video technology, VT transmitters beam video instructions onto the audience, almost like a matrix creating a virtual map. With this technology, the infrared receiver decodes the signal differently depending on each pixel/person's location. This enables the creation of animated video effects and transforms the audience into a display screen. Despite the low-resolution result due to a low number of pixels, quite detailed video effects can be achieved on a large canvas, using bright colors and bold movements.

Uses

Microsoft Kinect Launch The technology debuted at the Microsoft Kinect Launch in June 2010, where white satin ponchos embedded with wirelessly-controlled LEDs were used to integrate the audience into the show.

Arcade Fire – Coachella 2011 In 2011, Montreal's Arcade Fire used PixMob balls during their encore performance of "Wake Up" at Coachella Festival. The project, entitled Summer Into Dust, was sponsored by The Creators Project and produced by Radical Media. This was made possible due to Arcade Fire, Chris Milk, Moment Factory and Tangible Interaction. More than 1,250 glowing balls were dropped from the stage onto the audience. They contained battery-powered circuit boards studded with full-color LEDs that changed colors in unison, thanks to built-in infrared receivers and microphones.

Tiësto Dutch DJ and producer Tiësto used PixMob wristbands for his 2014 residency at Hakkasan. During the Super Bowl XLVIII Halftime Show, he tweeted that he would use the video technology for the February 28 show at Hakkasan Las Vegas Restaurant and Nightclub.

Super Bowl XLVIII Halftime Show PixMob launched their video version of the technology at the 2014 Super Bowl XLVIII halftime show. Each spectator received a black knitted hat called a "video ski hat" embedded with 3 LEDs and an infrared receiver. Just before the show, spectators were asked to put on their hats and remain seated to form a huge display. Wearing the video ski hats, each spectator became a pixel in a giant human screen composed of 80,000 pixels. Touchdown Entertainment, the company that produced the event, claimed it was "the largest ever LED screen". The spectators saw different kinds of visuals effects including a Pepsi logo moving around the stadium as well as images of the live Red Hot Chili Peppers' performance and fireworks display.

Inspirations Several sources of inspiration for the technology have been given by its inventors, David Parent and Vincent Leclerc, in interviews: the use of lighters in concerts, the Burning Man festival, fire rituals, as well as the large human screens made from crowd members holding placards in Korea. The co-founders explain that their goal is to augment the collective experience of being part of a show.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with PixMob

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what PixMob claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to PixMob before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about PixMob ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of PixMob

In research: PixMob appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses PixMob in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: PixMob is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Light-emitting diodes, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for PixMob outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study PixMob in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what PixMob means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain PixMob out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is PixMob in simple terms?

Why does PixMob matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study PixMob?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on PixMob.