Interactively probing swarm behavior with laser pointers

Raw footage of first proof of concept of interactive laser show. Exploring swarm behavior on the college level. Red lasers are laser class II. Video benefits from being watched in "high quality".

Here is what is happening:
0. Hand out red lasers to 200 college students. Keep green lasers (one weak and one strong).
1. Have students try out the lasers.
2. Try self-organization of patterns.
3. Have people follow and focus on green laser with red lasers.
4. Give instructions as to which pattern should be made (O, A, political symbol (note that the last is too vague to succeed))
5. Have people follow and focus on green laser with red lasers.
6. Demonstrate effect of diffraction gratings.
7. Balloon is popped by 100 mW green laser alone.
8. Balloon is not popped by 20 mW green laser alone.
9. Balloon is popped by lasers focusing.
10. Repeat.

Notes on better execution in the future:
a) Give instructions BEFORE handing out the lasers
b) Give instructions on how people can realize which laser dot they are
c) Turn light on for balloon popping part of it (as balloon has to be black)
d) Turn "auto-focus" off during recording.
e) Try more daring, but unambiguous patterns (horse, star, psi, brain, moving hammer?)

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• Laser
• interactive
• laser-show
• perception
• nyu
• pascallisch
• swarm
• behavior

[Lascap]

@James: Yes. I *think* we could extract the group-based prior with this method. That's what I was getting at with the "political symbol" task. I should have settled for something easier, like "horse". What does the canonical horse look like? Also note that when I ask for making it tighter, the scatter INCREASES. This has social implications. People not knowing who they are. Don't have the full lecture, sorry. This is it.

[TheQlabs]

In 2003-2004 wen i was in gent, belgium i have discussed interactive based laser design with syfi,...

[TheQlabs]

In 2003-2004 wen i was in gent, belgium i have discussed interactive based laser design with syfi in the UK.

[jhedges3]

rad. it would be nice to hear this entire lecture. do you have video of it? you could put it up on academicearth. did you notice the transition from 'O' to 'A'. seemed like many people on the right side of the O went to the left side of the A and vice versa. you can also see people making small adjustments to tighten it up. seems like you could do group versions of standard tasks with this. do a newsome dot coherence and have them point (instead of saccade). the influence of a group-based prior?

[DariusLerup]

the hardest part was to keep your eye on your own dot. Often I have to bring my dot off so I could figure out which was mine, especially when all the dots were concentrated together. Popping the balloons was fun tho

[TheGreenSweater]

sometimes, just keeping my "dot" still was the best way to find it...I kept it still as you suggested making the "A" and noticed that as one of the first still dots, mine became a juncture that other people organized their dots around...