RGB Firefly Sync

RGB Firefly Sync, originally uploaded by mdshaub.

My circuit board-to-be. I'm working on a new project based on the great work here:
tinkerlog.com/2008/07/27/synchronizing-fireflies-ng/
In my 1st version, I will house the circuit within a ping pong ball. Ordered the boards through SparkFun for $2.50 ea. today!
Oh, and used Eagle3D to generate these renders in POVRay.

Fireflies and Code

I'm back to doing some work in Processing, not to draw trees but bugs. A long story could be told about how I heard a story on Radiolab about Emergence, specifically a story about lightning bugs in South Asia that blink in sync, which led to my receiving a book for Christmas called Emergence, which helped inspire some new art work.

This is the first successful sketch I've written that really does the synchronization I heard about by the lightning bugs. You can interact with the little guys a bit, moving the mouse near them makes them stop blinking, getting out of sync, and they'll try to move away from you a bit as well.










(click the image to see the sketch)

The plan is to work out the "bugs" in the programming, and then build a nice little swarm of electronic lightning bugs that will have the same behavior, and be reactive to people around them as well.