Check out these electronic fireflies, each with a brain of their own.

They glow with the firefly's gentle rhythms. They're enjoyable to ponder. The pictures above are from my "Moby Firefly" installation outside the Zuzu and Middle East Restaurants on December 1-15, 2009. I developed these as my final project for the "World of Night" class (MAS. 961) taught by Anne Beamish and Susanne Setinger in Fall 2009 at the MIT Media Lab.

Here are three low-res movies showing their behavior: Video 1, Video 2, Video 3.
Or you can view a movie where I describe the installation.

Each firefly measures just 1" by 1" and has an ultra-bright LED, a night detection circuit, and its own micrcontroller which simulates a firefly's flashes. A switch selects between 8 different flashing modes. The boards run on 1 or 2 CR2032 coin cells and last for 3 to 8 weeks depending on color. They'll run through the winter and in the rain or snow. Here is a photo of the boards themselves:

On occassion, I've made available beta-test kits that include everything needed including batteries and a high brightness LED of your choosing. Looks dazzling in a group! Please contact me for more information.

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Questions? Email info 'at'  artsideas 'dot' com