SLIP-CASTING SWARMS
Objective: We found swarms to be a point of interest and found a few swarm logic engines that plugged into Grasshopper. Through manipulating the input parameters and running them through the swarm logic generators we discovered we were able to gain control, and eventually create swarms that had specific characteristics. By comparing them to videos and images of actual species of animals that swarm, we were able to categorize them into distinct “species.” The next challenge was transforming this algorithm into a 3D artifact. Our first attempt to map the forces of the swarm involved choosing a simple object for the force to act on. To do this, we chose a very simple primary object, a sphere. By turning the swarm point cloud into a matrix of individual attractor points we were able to better understand the forces of the swarm and the effect they had on the sphere. The process of creating 3D prints of the swarm-weathered artifacts helped us better understand the necessity to map the force of the swarm itself rather than an affected object.
