FlyLight.

Studio Drift developed the concept for Flylight based on the precise patterns, formations and seemingly random behavioral tendencies found in a flock of birds when they fly together. The flight patterns within the flock seem arbitrary and even playful, but as the designers researched, they learnt that that this is never the case. Each move a bird makes is deliberate and with good reason; 'the birds have to keep a safe distance from each other while staying safe from possible aggressors, this makes them fly close together to form dark spots in their formation so the attacker cannot pinpoint an individual bird.' Therefore, while pleasing to the eye, the flock formations are a natural defense with which to protect the birds from their predators. The goal of Studio Drift was to translate the behavior of a flock into light patterns and demonstrate this on large light installations. The viewer is meant to experience what it would be like to watch a flock of birds from within that flock itself. 


The sheer size of a Flylight is quite impressive (each Flylight consists of a minimum of 180 glass tubes), and this successfully provides the viewer with a sense of impermanence - a type of beauty that cannot be frozen or captured. Based on the movements they wanted to recreate from a flock of birds, the design team developed a system to take 'flock behavior' and translate it into 'digital DNA' to create recognizable visualization with light. Each light tube is individually controlled, and each tube can 'see' their environment through the use of sensors; they are able to interact with one another. This information is then fed into a computer simulation that drives the 'behind the scenes' electronics of the lights. No pattern ever repeats itself. With each new pattern, the ‘birds” must choose their way within the limits of the installation (the “flock”) themselves.

http://www.yatzer.com/Flylight-by-Studio-Drift