Jed Berk - Autonomous Light Air Vessels (ALAVs) 2.0

project link: http://www.alavs.com/
ALAVs 2.0 (Autonomous Light Air Vessels) are networked objects that communicate the concept of connectivity among people, objects, and the environment. Through the use of mobile technologies people can influence the behavior of the ALAVs by starting conversations and building closer relationships with them. ALAVs 2.0 reflects upon the current state of connectivity in our everyday lives. The potential of ALAVs 2.0 lies in its ability to captivate a wide audience and communicate the idea of people cohabiting a shared space with networked objects.

2.0 builds upon the first ALAVs (Autonomous Light Air Vessels) project. Similar to the original, the system communicates the concept of connectivity among people, objects, and the environment. 2.0 introduces a new, larger flock with more complex behaviors and interactions.

2.0 invites people as more active members of the ecology. With the integration of an Interactive Voice Recognition (IVR) system, individuals can use their mobile phones and engage in a conversation with the blimps that affects the blimps' behavior and their own.

The IVR acts as a technological link between a blimp(s) and a person to communicate with each other. Every participant interacts with the ALAVs either as a "friend" or a "foe." People are also given the opportunity to carry on a dialogue with either the entire group or an individual.

artist bio
Jed Berk has been exploring ideas related to nature, particularly the transient point where evolution might occur. His current work, "Transitional Species" is a body of networked sculptures that interact with their environment, an audience and each other. He employs the use of emerging technologies in his work to create technological biotopes of
semi-domesticated, biologically inspired sculptures that live in network-based ecosystems. Referring to his creative pursuits as "co-habiting with others," Jed creates installations where an audience can actively engage with multiple species thereby effecting their behaviors and the environment.
Jed's use of technology creates a tangible link between the physical and virtual by giving form to invisible and intangible networks. An emotional response to the "species" cultivates new relationships. His over arching interest is in developing large, multiple biotopes placed globally and capable of communicating with each other simultaneously, transcending language and cultural barriers.
Born in New York in 1973, Berk lives in Los Angeles, CA. He received a BFA from Rhode Island School of Design and an MFA from Art Center College of Design. He has shown in the US and internationally in institutions such as Beall Center of Art and Technology, Irvine, CA; Art Center Nabi, Seoul, Korea; ACM, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA; and Art Center College of Design, Pasadena, CA. Jed's work has also reached a broad audience with the ALAVs international television debut on the Discovery Network.