From Any Point
Swarm behavior in light and sound
Impact Snapshot
Composer/designer with custom electronics implementation
Contemporary arts visitors and collaborators
Custom PCB systems, Infrared communication, Swarm behavior algorithms
Outcomes
- Swarm-behavior system scaled for museum exhibition and audience interaction.
- Independent tiles created emergent behavior without central control.
Measured Signals
- 12 documented system states in portfolio records.
- Museum installation deployment at Contemporary Arts Center.
Interactive Demo
Description
A suspended cloud of 200–400 handmade triangular tiles fills the gallery ceiling. Each tile is an independent agent — its circuit hand-soldered with copper wire fed through an MDF board, housing its own speaker, LED, and infrared transceiver. The tiles communicate with their neighbors via infrared, producing emergent swarm behavior in both light and sound: ripples of color and tone cascade across the array like flocking birds or schooling fish, with no central controller dictating the patterns. Visitors interact by shining flashlights up into the cloud, triggering local responses that propagate outward through the network. The installation ran from 2017 to 2020 and also hosted a one-time live performance where the team played alongside the system using hanging globe bulbs as additional speaker elements.
Concept
From Any Point investigates emergent behavior and collective intelligence without central control. The title reflects the work's core premise: any single tile, any single visitor, any single gesture can become the origin of a system-wide transformation. The piece asks how complex, beautiful patterns arise from simple local rules — and what it means for an audience to participate in a system where individual and collective action blur together.
Technical Details
- 200–400 independent triangular tiles with hand-soldered circuits on MDF boards
- Copper wire fed through MDF to form each tile's circuit — no printed circuit board
- Each tile houses an LED, speaker, and infrared transceiver
- Swarm behavior algorithms running locally on each tile — no central controller
- Infrared communication between neighboring tiles enables cascading patterns
- Flashlight interaction interface allows visitors to trigger and steer swarm behavior
Team
- Eric Blyth Designer
- Sam Ferris-Morris Composer
- Justin West Composer/Designer
Collaborators
Modularem (Jeff Welch)
Capabilities
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