Best of Vivid Sydney 2015 (pictures)

For Vivid Sydney's seventh year, we've done the run around to find the best lightinstallations and events for the geek-minded Vivid visitor, from the massive installationson the Harbour to cool indie projects on the fringes. You can download the Vivid app for the full list of events, but until then, we've got your cheatsheet covered.

Lighting the Sails forms the visual centrepiece of Vivid everyyear and brings countless tourists and locals to Circular Quay to watch as JørnUtzon's distinctive sails light up with colourful digital artwork.

Last year, UK company 59 Productions created large-scale projections using 3D models of the Opera House mapped with digital animation,combined with live-action filming of different textural effects. This year, Universal Everything will berunning the show and we can expect an equally impressive spectacle.

One of the showstoppers of the 2014 Vivid Sydney festival, Harbour Lights will be making a triumphant return this year, using SydneyHarbour as a canvas for light-up boats that change colour as they move.

Sydney Harbour will be mapped out into differentcolour-coded zones while Sydney's ferries and cruise boats get rigged with GPS chipsand Intel Galileo boards to detect their location. When the boat moves itchanges colour, making for an ever-changing light show. Get on a ferry to seeit up close, or head to one of the Harbour's rooftop bars for a better view.

At theOverseas Passenger Terminal in Circular Quay, Vivid visitors will be able to Paint the Town red(or blue, or green) thanks to a massive interactive light show. The team at 32Hundred Lighting have installed several hundred high-powered light fixturesaround the buildings fronting Circular Quay, all of which change colour basedon user feedback. Visitors can 'paint' the buildings with their favouritecolours using a dedicated tablet, choose some special effects and press the gobutton to see the skyline light up with their design.

If you're familiar with the late-90s TV show Robot Wars,then prepare to see the live-action version -- RoboWars is a live battlefeaturing "remote controlled mechanical devices which try and destroy eachother." Built with parts salvaged from remote-controlled cars,quad-copters and even power drills, the robots are designed to smash, crush anddestroy.

There are two free sessions on May 30 with the option ofpaid reserved seating or VIP pit pass tickets that offer a chance to drive abot yourself. But at the end of the day you'll want to watch the pros doing itto see who'll be "the last one standing."

Forget Westeros -- this hands-on drone experience looks setto play out like a game of aerial bumper cars in a neon-lit Thunderdome (without the bumping of course, because drones don't come cheap).

Intel is coming good on its sponsorship of Vivid by lettingpeople of all ages fly a set of remote-controlled light-up drones usingIntel-powered tablets. Head down to the purpose-built enclosure in Martin Placeto take a spin -- it's the first time Vivid has put drones in the hands offestival goers, so unlike Christmas at your tech-loving Uncle's place, you'llactually get a turn this year.

Next to Game of Drones is Transcendence -- a three-storey lighting installation featuring food trucks, a pop-up bar andplenty to keep the nerdily-inclined Vivid fan happy. After demoing itsRealSense 3D scanning and gesture control technology at CES, Intel will beshowing it off to punters at two dedicated stands at Transcendence. Some of the3D scans will make it into the light projections in the space, and there willalso be changing light shows driven by computer code with coders sitting above theaction running things in real time.

The Seymour Centre's Musify+Gamify exhibition features two experimental concerts, with music from the likes of Robbie Avenaim (pictured),who combines percussion with awesome robotics. Local "bitpop" band 7bit Hero willalso showcase music combining gaming sounds with interactive videos to get audiences involved.

In the Seymour foyer, an exhibitionwill feature 'musified' games like the audio-driven mobile horror game PapaSangre and a pinball machine made from electric guitars.

While casinos might normallybe known for cashed-up entertainment, The Star in Pyrmont will offer up gaming of adifferent kind, with two massive projectors beaming PlayStation 4 games fromthe rooftop Sky Terrace .

Up to 4 people at a time will be able to play Super Stardust Ultra or LittleBigPlanet 3, with the action projected onto the side of The Star so everyone can see youpwning your mates.

The first weekend of Vivid will bring together the stars of YouTube and the gaming scene for three days dedicated to interactive pop culture.

Game On will feature panel discussions, workshops and performances, and a chance to meet YouTube stars like ChampChong and Muselk. Local devs including Quantum Shade and Neuron Spark will be making appearances while a Cosplay competition will make for plenty of good photos.

First Fleet Park at the south-west corner of Circular Quaywill be packed with dozens of interactive light displays this year, including Space Folding -- a work that uses over 1,600 LED lights to visualise real-timeflight data from Sydney's airspace.

Artist Zina Kaye says she wanted to pose the question,"Can we sense a data set through our body?" -- and to take the bodilyexperience further, the lights are accompanied by a "live data soundtrack", created by composer Peret von Sturmer, that you can listen to on your smartphone.

Vivid isn't all about the pretty lights -- it's also afestival of ideas. So if you want to get your grey matter going, the AustralianAstronomical Observatory has brought together a panel of professionalastronomers to tell "The Story of Light".

This panel will cover how light-based technologies arehelping astronomers discover the secrets of space, and it's targeted for general audiences so the panel are happy toanswer your questions on life, the Universe and everything.

Vivid and Intel are pairing up to run a set of learn-to-codeevents designed for kids. On June 6, Intel will run a workshop aimed at students aged from 13 to 16, teaching them skills to createVivid-style projects using Intel's Galileo Gen 2 development board.

There's also a corresponding workshop for teachers targetedat teaching coding and design technologies using thesame Galileo board. For the AU$40 ticket price (plus booking fee) students andteachers will also get to take home their own Galileo kit.

If you want someone else toplan your night for you, the Vivid Light Walk takes in all the best lightinstallations, starting off at the Sydney Opera House forecourt.

You'll see Affinity, a touch-sensitive installation thatemulates brain activity with giant light-up neurons, and the music-making cubesof Beatdice, and get a chance to have your body 3D mapped into lightprojections at INTER/Play. Once you've leftThe Rocks, you'll get to finish the night with a selfie at You Are Here.Hashtag illuminating.