A.L.I
Photorealistic projection of the Glyph Node tactile prototype

A.L.I project / design study

PLANETARY
GLYPH

Draw locally. Compose regionally. Signal as a planet.

Prototype in design - 2026

The object

A drawing terminal that becomes a node

Glyph Node is a small connected object with a capacitive touchscreen. A participant draws a graph made of points and links, chooses the type of voluntary light connected to the object, and places the drawing in a regional queue.

Every night, once astronomical darkness reaches the region, the nodes agree on one eligible drawing. Each object translates only its fragment into a local light score. No central server can activate the work alone, and no node can control equipment that has not been explicitly enrolled.

Glyph Node / G-01

A feasible first object

The first version deliberately uses available components. A custom board only becomes useful after the regional protocol has been tested.

01

Touch surface

4.3-inch capacitive screen, 800 x 480 pixels, displaying a graph of up to 32 nodes.

02

Local computer

Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W for prototypes, then Compute Module or an equivalent low-power Linux board.

03

Identity

A device key stored in a secure element signs drawings, readiness messages and execution receipts.

04

Connectivity

Wi-Fi and Ethernet, Bluetooth only for onboarding, local clock corrected through several independent time sources.

05

Local memory

Encrypted SQLite stores the node profile, drawings, peer log and the last executable scores.

06

Light outputs

Local adapters for Matter lighting, WLED strips and professional DMX / Art-Net installations.

Projection of a workshop prototype connecting the terminal to voluntary lights
Design projection: a Glyph Node controls a registered lamp, an addressable LED strip and a DMX panel on the local network. AI-generated visualisation; the physical prototype has not yet been built.

Logical architecture

Peer-to-peer, with a public directory but no central switch

Pure peer-to-peer networking is unreliable behind domestic routers. The practical solution is a hybrid mesh: direct connections whenever possible, several community relays for discovery, and a read-only public index for maps and archives.

Glyph Nodedraw + sign + execute locally
Regional meshlibp2p · WebRTC · QUIC · GossipSub
Replicated logCRDT · content hash · signed events
Public observatorymap + receipts + open archive

What the shared registry knows

A pseudonymous node ID, coarse H3 cell, time zone, available light types, maximum brightness delta, accessibility limits, consent period and last heartbeat.

What never becomes public

Exact address, Wi-Fi credentials, local device names, private keys and direct control endpoints remain on the object.

Why a CRDT

The drawing queue and availability states can merge after disconnections without a central database deciding which copy is authoritative.

Drawing format

A graph, not a bitmap

The participant places points and links them. Coordinates are normalised between zero and one, so the same drawing can be translated onto six lamps, a facade, a LED strip or hundreds of regional nodes.

The file contains geometry, order, timing and constraints. It contains no command addressed to a specific lamp. Translation into light happens locally after validation.

{
  "protocol": "pgp/1",
  "glyph": "sha256:…",
  "region": "h3:8a1…",
  "nodes": [[.12,.40],[.48,.18],[.81,.62]],
  "edges": [[0,1],[1,2],[2,0]],
  "tempo": 0.20,
  "max_delta": 0.15,
  "expires": "2026-09-01T23:00:00Z"
}

Nightly cycle

One region, one drawing, one listening window

  1. 01

    Deposit

    A signed drawing enters the regional stack. Its author may withdraw it until the daily lock.

  2. 02

    Deterministic selection

    The date, region and previous execution receipt form a public seed. Every node independently obtains the same eligible drawing.

  3. 03

    Regional score

    The graph is partitioned according to geography and capabilities. Dark areas count as intentional intervals, not missing pixels.

  4. 04

    Local preflight

    Each object previews its fragment, verifies time, brightness, environmental limits and the physical stop control.

  5. 05

    Activation

    After astronomical twilight, three slow sequences run for no more than five minutes, with fades and no stroboscopic effect.

  6. 06

    Silence and receipt

    The lights return to their prior state. Nodes publish signed execution receipts; observatories preserve optical and radio measurements.

Projection of a restrained regional light activation at night
Regional projection: selected voluntary lights form separated arcs while most of the territory remains unchanged. AI-generated visualisation, not a documented activation.

PGP/1

The Planetary Glyph Protocol

Every event is compact, signed, dated, hashed and limited in duration. The protocol transports intentions and proofs, never unrestricted remote-control commands.

REGISTER

Pseudonymous node and coarse region.

CAPABILITY

Light type and hard local limits.

GLYPH_COMMIT

Hash of a drawing before publication.

GLYPH_REVEAL

Graph geometry and timing.

SCORE_LOCK

Deterministic selected score.

READY

Local checks passed; participation remains revocable.

PLAY

Timestamp, not a raw light command.

RECEIPT / ABORT

Proof of execution or documented refusal.

Non-negotiable constraints

The artwork cannot take priority over the world it addresses

Opt-in only. No scanning, credential collection or unauthorised control of connected objects.

Critical exclusion. Road, rail, aviation, maritime, medical, emergency and security lighting can never be enrolled.

Ecological gate. A region cancels activation during migration alerts, sensitive breeding periods, adverse weather or local restrictions.

No strobe. Slow fades only, brightness delta capped at 15%, duration capped at five minutes and accessible preview before consent.

Physical stop. A local control always overrides the network and restores the previous light state.

Feasibility

Build the regional proof before the planetary image

The object and a ten-node local network are feasible with existing components. Large-scale visual coherence is harder: it depends on participation density, observation points and environmental permissions, not only software.

PhaseDeliverableValidation
0 · 4–6 weeksWeb simulator, graph format and threat model.Offline merge and deterministic selection.
1 · 6–8 weeksThree Glyph Nodes and WLED / DMX adapters.Physical stop, restored state, signed receipts.
2 · 8–12 weeksTen to thirty nodes in one venue or district.Five-minute activation observed from one high point.
3 · 6–12 monthsTwo autonomous regions and public observatory.No central command; cross-region archive converges.
4 · researchSatellite or high-altitude documentation partnership.Measured signal compared with simulation.

Indicative prototype scale: EUR 150–300 per object using off-the-shelf parts, excluding design and development. A credible first public pilot is primarily a software, mediation and authorisation budget, not a hardware budget.

Artistic projection of Planetary Glyph seen from orbit

Long-term projection

The orbital image is a document; the interstellar signal is a rhythm

A nearby satellite could reconstruct the regional graph. A distant observer could not resolve it as a drawing. At interstellar distance, only a repeated global variation or artificial spectrum might become a technosignature. The project keeps those two scales separate.

Technical basis

Existing building blocks

  • libp2p / WebRTC — direct links, peer identity, relays and GossipSub.
  • Yjs — network-agnostic CRDT and offline-first synchronisation.
  • Matter — commissioning and local control of compatible lights.
  • Art-Net / DMX — professional lighting installations on a local network.
  • NASA Black Marble — scientific observation of Earth’s night lights.