Glowbits: A tactile LED matrix

South-African-born artist Daniel Hirschmann’s matrix consists of LEDs mounted on motorized shafts that move and change colors either as programmed or through interaction with a person.

Glowbits is a matrix of motorized pixels that physically move as their colors change. The result is an image with real depth and dimensionality.

When Glowbits surfaces display images, their positions are dictated by the color they present. This can introduce a dimension that is unavailable to current screen technology. Glowbits were born from the idea that a 2D surface can become an interactive 3D surface. They comprise of a matrix of movable LED balls representing pixels. Their movement can be autonomous or directly influenced by user intervention. Each one has a motor that allows them to move in a linear motion.

[via spime]