The Life Project
by Fiona French
Abstract:
A collective of artists, designers, makers, musicians and programmers took
on the task of creating an interactive, living ecosystem of machine "life"
at SPACE Studios, Hackney, London. The resulting prototype exhibit explores
our complex, mutually dependent relationship with technology, using open
source software, hardware, and an open design process.
The Brief:
Using pervasive technologies such as RFID, Twitter, Arduino, digital sound,
and LED lighting, create an ecosystem of little machines that live, grow,
reproduce, communicate, and die with one another, based on Conway's classic "Game
of Life". Machines will need tending by humans ("machine husbandry"),
encouraging an evolutionary process of genetic algorithms embedded in
the
creatures. If left alone, the creatures will die of neglect and loneliness.
By interacting with this small slice of digital ecology in a public exhibition, people can draw their own conclusions about our complex and interdependent relationship between technology and the "natural" world.
This presentation shows the results to date and describes some of the technical and design solutions we have implemented, as well as providing a personal context for the research. The talk should be suitable for everyone.
Keywords:
Emotional Intelligence, Twitter, Arduino, LED, Game of Life, Robot
Design, Ecosystem, Art Project, Open Source Software.
Short Biography:
Fiona French has been course leader for BSc Computer Games at London
Metropolitan University since 2006. She was one of the founding members of
Gamelab London, currently a Bafta-nominated media company operating within
the university. Fiona has been designing and running public gaming events
for several years, including "Big Woolwich TXT Game" in 2009 for
London 2012
Open Weekend, London's first ever "Global GameJam" in 2009, "Grl
Gmrs
Tournament" in 2008 and "Dr Zoogle's Bestiary" in 2007 for
the London Games
Festival. Her recent research involves the use of embedded technology in
toys.
