modernarchitecture.net: Autonomous Light Air Vessels (ALAVs)

I designed and programmed the software brains of these robots, working closely with the artist, Jed Berk, to refine their behavior and design the overall performance. We designed the flock to interact with the audience and with each other in such a way as to transform a large architectural space with the minimum of material, energy, and intelligence. Each ALAV responded to proximity to people, to each other, and to its physical position with respect to the overall space. Visitors could call the ALAVs using a mobile phone. The ALAV that chose to field the call posed a set of questions to the caller, whose answers determined its subsequent behavior.

The robots were built using the SunSpot microcontroller from Sun Microsystems. They were installed in April 2007 at the Beall Center for Art and Technology at University of California Irvine.

From the project web site:

ALAVs 2.0 (Autonomous Light Air Vessels) are networked objects that communicate the concept of connectivity among people, objects, and the environment. Through the use of mobile technologies people can influence the behavior of the ALAVs by starting conversations and building closer relationships with them. ALAVs 2.0 reflects upon the current state of connectivity in our everyday lives. The potential of ALAVs 2.0 lies in its ability to captivate a wide audience and communicate the idea of people cohabiting a shared space with networked objects. -- Jed Berk