Benjamin Reynhart

For my final project, I have been researching some existing installations and projects that sit in similar fields to where my project lies. My dissertation research is heavily based on swarm intelligence, and there is significant crossover between the two modules. Swarm intelligence research is the basis for much of my context in my project, so I will start by taking a look at these first.

Notable swarm intelligence based installations

AtomSwarm by Daniel Jones

This is an interesting software experiment that explores the interaction between a flock of simple agents that follow a set of rules that allows them to create audio textures. Interesting and pleasant audio and visual aesthetic created. Performance mode allows a “conductor” to affect the swarm’s behaviour by modifying variables such as population size and interactions. - I like that each agent can have different genomes and hormones that effects behaviour (inc audio).

The Fragmented Orchestra by Jane Grant, John Matthias and Nick Ryan

This project takes the form of a more permanent installation, and is “a huge distributed musical structure modeled on the firing of the human brain’s neurons.. The Fragmented Orchestra connects 24 public sites across the UK to form a tiny networked cortex, which will adapt, evolve and trigger site-specific sounds via FACT in Liverpool.”

I find this project interesting firstly because of the scale and distribution of the project, literally spanning the entire length of the United Kingdom and using the internet as a network. The simulated “sensors” for the project are microphones, listening to the local happenings at each node and then reacting as a distributed brain, influencing the sounds that are output at the other locations. I also like the feedback loop that the project constructs, allowing participants to interact with the piece, and then listen to their contribution in the global track.