The Orb

client: City of Houston, Texas

Cooper Perkins developed an innovative LED-based lighting system as a part of Houston's Buffalo Bayou Park artistic lighting plan. The 'Orb' on top of the pathway lighting fixtures emit either blue light or white light, depending on the phase of the moon. Cooper Perkins had to work with the fact that a dedicated 120VAC line for each Orb was already in place but a communication scheme had to be included without adding any wires. Cooper Perkins developed a robust communication scheme 'hidden' in the AC line to change the state of the each uniquely addressed light between white and blue. By 'stealing' AC cycles, messages could be sent to the lights for the desired effect – similar to X-10 but without the cost of buying the chipsets.