O2. The visible Net
Creative Engineering

In this campaign directed by Mau Morgó, we made the power of 5G visible by translating the network’s strength into light signals. As a first step, the O₂ network signal was measured in various locations in Germany. Then, the data was transmitted to an LED bar hanging underneath a drone which converts the data into light impulses. The stronger the network signal, the brighter the light.

Coming from having experience with light-painting techniques, we were tasked to develop the complete technical setup for the project, both hardware and software. We had to create a ten-metre long pole that was to be flown hanging from a drone. It had to be flexible, resistant and lightweight so we limited our materials to high-performance carbon fibre and aluminium. To hold the communications and battery system for the LEDs we modified a heavy-duty case that hung at the end of the pole, for it to not interfere with the drone and to act as a counterweight and stabiliser.

To communicate in real-time from our laptop to a flying target, we teamed up with engineer Alex Posada (MID) and created a program that generated parametric animations based on the net measurements and remapped the images to the long LED strip.