SuperFlock

Jeremy PetersonMFA Design + Technology

ART/SCI5570B Applied Research

Prof. Victoria VesnaParsons/New School

11/1/2011

Abstract

“Emergence refers to revealing, appearing, or ‘making vis-ible’ an event, object, or the outcome of a process. In an art context, emergence also encompasses novelty, sur-prise, spontaneity, agency, even creativity itself.”

Design is always in search of new visual forms and inter-actions that science and technology enable us to see. The impetus for this project comes from a desire to explore the creation of emergent forms and gain a deeper under-standing of systems based on natural phenomena. Hu-mans tend to fear what they don’t understand and it is the role of the designer and artist to rationalise and recontex-tualize these moments.

I’m interested in large flocks of animals where the result-ing swarm can resemble one emergent but solid shape shifting entity that can be described as a superorganism. This form is constantly in a state of flux and it is not pos-sible to grasp its dimensions with the naked eye. Now that we can simulate flocking behavior with some accuracy using computers it becomes possible to model and study the emergent behaviors that occur in this system. The ability to quantify the data that results in swarms enables artists to work with flocking behavior as a generative pro-cess that creates emergent forms.

My question: What are the emergent 3 dimensional forms created by the outer boundaries of the swarm shape; and how can we use the behavior of flocking to generate these forms and create these responsive and dynamic forms?

Concept / Topic

The collective behavior of the swarm creates what is called a superorganism, which is an organism consisting of many organisms. My concept is to model the exterior forms that swarms create and put a ‘skin’ around it in order to make a superorganism that is visible and to give the user an opportunity to view and interact with it.

3 main rules inform all of the outcomes in flocking behav-ior and they are: SeparationAlignmentCohesion

“You need to move with the same speed and direction as your neighbors, you need to avoid hitting them and you need to stay close,” Sabine Hauert, MIT

Flocking behavior is also interesting because of it’s high rate of adaptability to it’s environment. The simple rules that it follows allow for a cohesive form to be retained even when individual agents are interrupted. This results in a very solid, yet totally dynamic emergent superorgan-ism.

The plan on how to engage with this idea comes in three phases. The first to develop a system to map the forms; this will be done in Processing or OpenFrameworks where behavioral libraries already exist that can be leveraged. The second phase is to iterate and create a comparative study of forms by playing with the rules that create each emergent form. Flocks can be programmed to exhibit be-haviors tied to resource gathering, predator avoidance, or species specific flocking behavior. The final step is to cre-ate an interactive product that reacts dynamically to user stimulus. This will be the most challenging, but ultimately the most rewarding phase.

Context & Precedence

“Generative art usually involves poeisis, which suggests that it should reveal the world in ways that nature can’t – hence technology seems a possible, but not necessarily unique, vehicle to achieve this aim.”

Art, Emergence, and the Computational SublimeJon McCormack and Alan Dorin

Any computer modeling done in this project will have a shared lineage with Craig Reynolds original brilliant pro-gram entitled ‘Boids’ In 1986 Reynolds devised the boids-algorithm, based on a model of the interactions in flocks, herds or schools of animals. The magic of the boids algo-rithm is that complex overall patterns emerge from simple rules describing their interactions.

There have been many other computational models of group motion/ swarm behavior created since 1986, and as Reynolds himself lists on his website, they’ve been used in Computer Animation, Robotics, Interactive Graph-

ics, VR, Games, Robotics, Aerospace, Education, AI, Art, Biology, Physics, Emergent behavior, search optimization & visualization techniques.

The most recent and relevant example to this project I found is from 2010 where Corrie Van Sice at NYU created a 3D printed sculpture by simulating the movement of a flock over time in a digital environment. Her impetus for the project is: “I am interested in using the algorithm as a tool for generating form, as if it were a brush or blade leaving traces of itself on an object”

There is a long history of art and science collaborating to create new forms enabled by new technology. A great example is biologist/artist Ernst Haeckel in the 1800’s; who’s study of microscopic radiolarian forms was used as inspiration and sometimes almost exact reproduction by the designer Rene Binet who developed these forms into designs who’s application ranged from patterns to archi-tecture.

screenshot from ‘Boids’ - Craig Reynolds (1986)

Ernst Haeckel (1860’s)

Corrie Van Sice (2010)

Project Proposal ( Phase I )

Begin by figuring out the basic modeling of the superorganism’s form in Processing or OpenFrameworks.

This is a technical exercise and is done to understand what kind of parameters to take into consideration when moving forward with creating additional forms.

Alternately the data could also be captured using a 3D scanning camera and a live swarm. ( this might be possible to do using fish or possibly insects )

example sketch from video source:

Project Proposal ( Phase II )

- Create a study of comparative forms in superorganisms formed by flocking behavior.

- Create and iterate the resulting forms by working with the parameters of each and altering their behavior to specific species of animals.

- Iterate on the forms further by introducing new variables such as predators & food sources behavior to achieve a wide variety of results.

Project Proposal ( Phase III )

Find a way to model the behavior in real time for an audience to interact with.

This might start out as an interactive installation. (screen/projector based installation with the audience interacting with a projected image )

The ultimate goal would be to create a reactive physical object for an installation.

Dynamic and reactive form that is constantly animated while retaining cohesion.

Conclusion

Creating a superorganism from the swarm and animating it will create a memorable but perplexing experience for the viewer and allow them to see and understand a little bit about the world as seen through an unexpected lens.

The audience is invited to experience this new form in order to better understand the phenomena of flocking be-havior. This also introduces people to the ideas of swarm intelligence, super organisms, and emergence. The super-organism is not controlled by one entity but by the collec-tive ‘intelligence’ of the entire swarm. It is a form created by reaction. This intelligence is visible, it reacts to stimu-lus and can problem solve to find resources and avoid danger. The viewer is confronted with a paradox of an or-ganism who’s intelligence is clearly visible but not central-ized and who’s form is never static or exactly repeating.

By modeling these forms we can understand them. By making them interactive we can take even more of the mystery from them and create emergent interactive art.This project helps make the unknowable and invisible into something that can be seen and understood.

REFERENCES

Corrie Van Sicehttp://itp.nyu.edu/~cvs245/Blog/?p=456

Craig Reynolds & Boidshttp://www.red3d.com/cwr/boids/

Rene Binethttp://www.johncoulthart.com/feuilleton/2010/09/18/esquisses-decoratives-by-rene-binet/

Ernst Heinrich Philipp August Haeckel http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernst_Haeckel

Art, Emergence, and the Computational SublimeJon McCormack and Alan Dorinhttp://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.16.6640

Superorganismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superorganism