100% Design = mostly boring, apart from this

My favourite from 100% Design;

Piston Wall by Benjamin Males, Tom Vaughan and Object Studio



A pixel wall in the loosest sense of the word, this proof-of-concept prototype uses a fairly complex construction of CNC machined acrylic parts to create Arduino controlled mechanical 'pixels', each allowing for 700mm of horizontal movement. Beautiful when static, absolutely mesmerising when in motion. The makers were talking about recessing the inner workings into a wall cavity, but it would be a huge shame to hide such precision engineering from view. Captivating stuff.

Also seen at Tent was Wrap3 with a prototype 360 degree projection cube that housed the projector inside the cube itself. Previously they've had to externally project onto their sculptures, resulting in the unfortunate need for multiple projectors to be fixed to surrounding architecture. Having the projector inside the sculpture itself is a major development, allowing the system to be used in a much more dynamic and free-form way.

Finally Creative Trust deserve a mention for bringing some light-heartedness to what is otherwise a very dry event (100%). Beautifully illustrated products with a warm sense of humour. Reasonably priced too - the clock below is a snip at £39;