Having previously viewed this, it was a pleasure to see Alexandra’s posting over on the tinker blog on this project. It’s a wonderfully simple solution to crowd interaction in a space where it’s harder to speak than gesture. It also brings people together in the most elegant of ways.

“ZYGOTE is a lightweight inflated ball, illuminated from within, that responds to pressure applied to its surface. Interacting with the ball is simple: punch it, bounce it, squeeze it, or tap it and the ball’s internal LEDs react instantaneously. Dozens of balls released to an energetic audience at a major music concert, transform the environment into a multi-sensorial, interactive playground, actively engaging the crowd in a shared experience. Each ball also can act as both an input and an output device by being networked to a central computer. This allows for more complex interaction, as the crowd can modify the graphics on a screen, make the balls light up in unison, or even affect the music.”