"Flying Cubes" by Nicolas Reeves
Three flying cubes, or “aerobots,” float in formation in the nave of Grand Palais, a few meters above the audience.
These robotic 1.8 meter flying ribbed cubes are computer animated and propelled by eight microturbines that let them move and turn in all directions. Inspired by research into social insects like ants and bees, these flying robots will no doubt be put to future use for industry, public entertainment, and fun. Each of the cube's eight corners features blue diodes, turning a group of them into a shifting mass of constellations when plunged into darkness. During performances, the sides of the cubes are lit by the video projectors whose images follow the moving cubes. In certain situations, the audience can also interact with the cubes through text messages.
Nicolas Reeves: The son of Hubert Reeves, Nicolas Reeves was born in 1957 in Ithaca, New York. He holds two bachelor's degrees, one in architecture (1982) and the other in physics (1985), from Université de Montréal. Reeves carried out advanced research in physics in Montréal until 1986, then earned a master's degree in architecture at Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1988. He currently teaches at the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM) design school and heads NXI GESTATIO, a computer, architecture, and design research and creation laboratory. He is also the artistic director of the Hexagram research and creation laboratory in new media in Montréal.
Cubes volants du projet SAILS : Nicolas Reeves, NXI GESTATIO Design lab
Hexagram-UQAM
Module optique et projections adaptatives : Sébastien Roy, laboratoire Vision 3D
Université de Montréal
Cityspeak : Jason Lewis, Department of Design Art
Concordia University
