Spica is the brightest star in the constellation of Virgo and also the inspiration for this visual loudspeaker lamp system where sound vibrations force illuminated liquid within a transparent tube to dance to the music and makes the spectrum analyzer on my hi-fi appear somewhat dull by comparison.
Designed by 24-year-old Yuki Yamamoto, a recent graduate of the Kanazawa College of Art, the Spica has a loudspeaker at the base of a transparent tube which is separated from liquid above by a clear thin impervious material. The liquid above vibrates and dances as the music from a connected audio player or PC is played through the speaker.
Yamamoto chose to shine white light from LEDs at the base to "make a primary model that expresses my pure concept". This creates a beat-driven light show through the sides and above. He told Gizmag that adding a stain to the liquid in the tube would add a splash of color to the light show.
The 400 by 115 by 115mm (15.75 by 4.53 by 4.53 inch) work was recently displayed at the Design Tide Tokyo trade show (as you can see in the video below) which is a "venue for designers, manufacturers, buyers and journalists to gather and confront design head-on":
Yamamoto's prototype will next appear at Pecha Kucha on December 2. He told us that he has had a few offers to take the device beyond the prototype stage and into the marketplace, we'll keep you posted.
Watch more footage of the Spica in action, set to Drop by Cornelius:
