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a friendly swarm

This project is an exploration of systems that can be more than the sum of their parts.

The installation consists of a large group of randomly moving particles (or agents) projected on a video screen. In addition to their random motion, particles are attracted by motion detected through a video camera. The result is a constantly changing "swarm" that slowly morphs in an attempt to mimic the last captured motion information. A lack of visual stimuli eventually causes the particles to fall off the screen in a waiting state before they come out and greet the next participant. Through the mimic dynamic, a silent exchange takes place between the users and the virtual agents on a very intuitive level.

If more than one participant shares the space then the particles will simply act confused and overwhelmed by the stimuli. Users must collaborate in their attempts to catch the bugs' attention by learning to leave room for others to take center stage while others stand still.

The piece was written using Processing and requires a USB camera, a VDIG and Quicktime for Java.