Orb Swarm (also known simply as SWARM) is a kinetic art work consisting of six semi-autonomous spherical robots.[1] It was created in 2007 by a group of engineers and artists including Michael Prados, Jon Foote, Lee Sonko, and many others.[2] Orb Swarm was inspired by previous work in robotics and kinetic art, and seeks to emulate swarm behavior in nature and human dancing.[3] Nearly all of the hardware and software in the project is open source, and others are encouraged to build upon the project's efforts.[4]
Each orb is driven by two motors, one for drive and one for steering.[5] The shell is made of welded, water jet cut aluminum, and it moves by pushing against the weight of the batteries inside.[6] For guidance and control, there is a GPS module, an IMU, dead reckoning, and a computer running Linux.
Each orb has several banks of full color LEDs and a sound system that are controlled programmatically.
Orb Swarm first appeared at Burning Man in 2007. Other performances have included Maker Faire,[7] Coachella,[8] the California Academy of Sciences Nightlife, Robogames, and the Techkriti festival in Kanpur, India.[9]
