We planned an official demonstration in the Agavestraat, to test our prototype in the space that it was originally designed for. In the morning the technicians of Imtech took one of the old poles out and replaced it with our new design. Connecting it to the electricity grid seems easy at first sight, but to let it function in combination with the sensors and the color-changing light was quite a job.
We are making use of two light sources: the white LED light for traffic safety under the fixture, and the color-changing light that is inside. The white LED is connected to the sensors, so the light can be dimmed when there is no one around, and it will light up when a car, bike or person passes by.
Furthermore we tested the shapes we want to use to create an atmosphere that reminds of a room in a house.
More people showed up than we expected! Present were some fellow students from the MediaLAB Amsterdam, many workers and representatives of the municipality of Almere, and of course the people that live in the street. First our coach Marnix did an introduction about our team and explained the goal of the Light Challenge. Then we explained where the idea of the Streethouse Lighting concept came from and how our product exactly works. To end the presentation, Meindersma from the municipality told about the enthousiasm of the city of Almere to participate in innovative projects like ours.
When our light turned on, we were really surprised by the effect. You can see it in the picture:
