Philips Creates a Garden of Mechanical Flowers

The last we heard from Philips's experimental Lumiblade team, they tapped rAndom International to create You Fade To Light, a magical pixel "mirror." Philips was back at the 2010 Milan Furniture Fair, this time working with Jason Bruges Studio on a Mimosa, a synthetic garden made of mechanical "flowers" that bloom when anyone draws near. Maybe this is just easier to watch rather than explain:

The installation is meant to show-off Philips's Lumiblade technology, flat OLED tiles that can be built to different sizes for applications ranging from displays to lighting. The tech isn't exactly a mainstream barnburner--but Philips is pushing it to show the myriad possibilities offered by low-energy use and almost unlimited formats. (The other projects include lamps by Established & Sons and Tom Dixon.)

Here's rAndom International's previous installation using the tech:

Check out more of the Jason Bruges Studio's work here, and more of rAndom International's work here. It's excellent stuff.

For more work along these lines--complete with video--check out our previous slideshow.