The Intel Ultrabook™ tree, developed by the LAB at Rockwell Group for Intel’s 2013 CES booth, invited visitors to contribute to an interactive canopy built from 180 Ultrabook convertibles. Visitors could create a generative design via a touch-screen app on one of eight Ultrabooks at the base of the tree and and launch their design into the canopy of Ultrabook “leaves”. The first interactive tree at CES, the installation represents the transformative, personal and inspiring nature of technology in our lives.

In addition to developing the visual concept and interaction design, the LAB created custom software to enable the 180 Ultrabooks to act as a single ultra-high resolution screen, transforming each individual piece into a window into a virtual world. The interaction between the base of the tree and the canopy was enabled by Spacebrew, an open-source toolkit developed by the LAB. The tree and touch-screen applications were developed using openFrameworks, an open-source creative coding toolkit.

Additional Credits: 2LK and Taylor Group