Flylight is an interactive light installation composed of a minimum of 180 glass tubes.The glass tubes that light up and respond to the viewer are inspired by the behavior of a flock of birds and the fascinating patterns they seem to make randomly in the air.
This behaviour is not as accidental as it looks; the birds have to keep a safe distance from each other while staying safe from possible agressors. This makes them fly close together to form dark spots in their formation so the attacker cannot pinpoint an individual.
This is what the viewer will experience when approaching the Flylight. Studio Drift converted this flock-behaviour into a digital DNA and translated it into understandable visualizations with light. Each light is controlled individually, but the behavior is not programmed to a repeated pattern.Time after time the birds have to choose their way within the borders of the installation.
The lights can see their environment through sensors that translate the information into a computer simulation, which drives the electronics of the lights.
The first designs for Flylight were commissioned in 2007 and Studio Drift have further developed into the current form, which was shown at Salone del Mobile 2011 in Milan for the first time outside the Netherlands.They are currently working on customized Flylight for private houses and public spaces in Europe, China, the USA and Russia.
