This installation consists of a series of 3 autonomous helium filled blimps whose movements are determined by small swarms of houseflies. The flies are essentially the brain of each of the devices, determining how they interact and respond to the space and the other devices. Up to 50 houseflies live within chambers attached to each blimp unit. These chambers contain food, water and light needed to keep the flies alive and active. The chambers also contain sensors that detect the changing light patterns produced by the movements of the flies. In real-time the sensors send this information to an on board microcontroller which activates motors connected to propellers which move the devices based on the predilections of the flies. The floating, wandering blimps are separate but intersecting community vehicles. The flies exist in their own self-contained and self-sustaining worlds, collectively creating an amplified and exaggerated expression of group behavior.
