MIT’s Bellagio Fountain

Here is a link to a MIT musical fountain project, La Fontaine Du Campus Est, by Zack Anderson and friends.

“….. La Fontaine Du Campus Est (The Fountain of East Campus) is a computer-controlled, servo-actuated, LED and halogen-lit, sump-pump powered water fountain. It features five streams of water that can each be individually controlled (on/off) as well as pivoted (90 degrees of freedom). Each stream of water is lit by a halogen light. The perimeter of the fountain has RGB triplets that can perform various animations. The fountain and water are also illuminated by eight Luxeon LEDs. The entire system is controlled by a PC that sequences through a choreographed file called a ShowFile. Three circuit boards act as an interface between the fountain and the computer: a valve control board, an LED control board, and a servo control board. All but the last were custom built for La Fontaine Du Campus Est…..“

The site gives a great description of how he and his team built it, including video documentation of some of the processes and techniques, as well as the fountain in action. All schematics and source codes are also available for download. Lovely!

Not exactly how I imagine the Electromagnetic Fountain, but the spirit is definitely there. I just can’t help embedding the fountain in action:

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