Honghao Deng, Jiabao Li, Allen Sayegh: Twinkle: A Flying Lighting Companion for Urban Safety

Title:

Twinkle: A Flying Lighting Companion for Urban Safety

Artist(s) and People Involved:

Exhibiting Artist(s):

Symposium:

ISEA2019: 25th International Symposium on Electronic Art

Venue(s):

Asia Culture Center (ACC) , Gwangju , South Korea

Medium:

drone, electronics, LED, resin

Size:

dimensions variable

Artist Statement:

Imagine a city with flying light: as night fell and darkness creeps in, all of a sudden there’s a bright sparkle, and another – one by one lighting up the city street. Soon the sullen city comes alive, orchestrated with a natural rhythm of Twinkle.
Lighting, as one major part of urban infrastructure providing areas with an abundance of potential witnesses, contributes significantly to feelings of safety. However, the current city lighting system that leaves many areas uncovered induces unsafe perceptions and instigates crimes. The addition of ubiquitous surveillance is an intrusion on privacy and does not take real-time actions. The cold, lifeless light shines in the darkness, trapping people in the solitude of silence. These absences motivated us to create Twinkle – a luminous transformative creature inhabits on light posts. They are curious aerial animals attracted by human activities. During the daytime, they rest on urban light posts for charging. At night, they interact with individuals walking on the street in their own way based on their distinct personalities. Twinkles’ behavior and habit help people have a better observation of the surroundings. Meanwhile, this indifferent act exposes the individuals attempting to conduct misbehaviors to dazzling light to prevent crime ahead of time. In this way, there is no more blindspot in dark streets. When one twinkle is out of battery, it flies back to the light post, and send another Twinkle to continue following to guide people all the way back to home.
Twinkles are indirect lighting solutions for improving urban safety without surveillance. For everyone’s daily life, urban lighting is no longer a cold, immutable infrastructure but a new form of companionship with personalities and responses. We envision a future that appliance goes beyond machine and becomes a companion with us.