In our experience working with light, one of our ongoing frustrations has been the preview of light bounces on reflective surfaces. No preview or 3D software offers a tool capable of displaying those trajectories, which is critical when working with lasers. We had been considering the idea of exploring how form could shape light and, at the same time, be mapped in real time to allow a comparison between its physical and digital dimensions. In the course of investigating how to solve this technical issue, we discovered the RAY surface operator, which did exactly what we were looking for: projecting one geometry inside another and generating as many bounces as desired. This has allowed us to study, quickly and in real time, the behavior of a laser beam bouncing inside geometries.
In this project, we created a small rectangle with four points, which we projected onto a three-dimensional geometry using the RAY operator. We converted it into data, selected only one of the four points for each bounce, and with a DAT-to-SOP we generated the geometry by connecting the points.
At present, this project runs within the POP family.
Cartografía del rayo has been exhibited so far at Madrid Design Festival 2025 and Volumens Festival, and it will soon be shown in Valencia, Spain. We hope you will be able to experience this work in your own city.
We hope you enjoy it, and any programming suggestions are welcome.Regards!
www.radiantelab.com / Instagram / Linkedin
Concept, development, and direction: Manuel Conde. Management: @h4l9000 Lighting designer, soundscape, and music: @diana_carmenate Object design: @veladostudio Lighting designer: @isaacrovira_ Sound advisor: @ilginicozu. Sound enginier: @theons_theory Video: @andreusignes.
