ION (Interactive Open Network) is a research investigation into designing, developing, and building interactive environments. It focuses on a set of iterative experiments developed in order to build understanding of simple systems that allow for the design of environments that respond to their inhabitants. Each experiment is developed as a small-scale installation in order to study the interaction between spaces and their users.

The ION installations each feature a multi-node light element as the responsive output. The way input is collected from people varies based on the location and how people engage with the space. We use a range of sensors as the inputs, which we can translate into any number of light-based effects as the output. With each iteration we layer into the design new elements we are interested in studying, building towards an increasingly complex responsive environment.

In addition to developing the interactive system, the installations are exercises in designing light-touch interventions within existing environment. Each installation activates the space within which it is built, in some cases giving it a new spatial quality and in other cases providing a new focal point for organizing it.