Volume Is an Entrancing Interactive Cube of Mirrors
Some projects exist for no other reason than to be mesmerizing in their own right. Volume is one such project that is made up of an array of 100 mirrors on servos that form a cube. The movement of the mirrored panels is responsive, and they follow nearby people who are tracked with cameras. The installation also reacts to sound, lighting up LEDs on the mirrors based on the noise in the room.
SOFTlab, the creators of Volume, say “the installation redraws the line between what is considered ephemeral vs. physical as the installation remixes space and the character of the festival goers while gazing back at them with empathy and exuberance.” Flowery language aside, Volume is a unique and beautiful piece of art to look at. Though whether festival goers see empathy and exuberance gazing back at them probably has more to do with what they’ve consumed before hand.
HP commissioned SOFTlab to construct Volume for the Panorama Music Festival in New York City. There, it will join other creative installations in The Lab — an interactive experience at the festival curated by Meta. The Lab will include other art pieces, like a multiplayer olfactory organ, and a light and sound experience that is controlled by the electricity flowing through people when they hold hands.

While many hackers scoff at installations like this (the grandiose language probably doesn’t help), a lot of technical know-how is showcased here. The camera tracking system alone, which finds an average point within a group of people, is pretty impressive. And, coordinating the movement of all of those mirrors takes some serious control skills.


