San Leandro interactive lights entertain, collect pedestrian data
Contra Costa Times
by Rebecca Parr
12 December 2014
image: Dan Honda/Bay Area News Group
As pedestrians approach, a cluster of globes lights up, changing colors the longer people watch the minilight show.
The globes, installed this month, are an experiment to learn how many people walk on the street and whether the interactive lights will encourage more pedestrians.
"If you have a creative art installation, will it attract more people to use that space? Will people interact, will they linger and play with it?" asked Deborah Acosta, city chief innovation officer.
Graduate students in UC Berkeley's Center for New Media installed lights at three San Leandro sites as part of the Sensing Cityscapes class taught by Ron Rael and Greg Niemeyer.