A must-see video produces by SparkFun about a very interesting installation by Jen Lewin, The Pool:

The Pool is an environment of giant, concentric circles created from interactive, wireless circular pads. By entering the pool, you enter a world where play and collaborative movement can create a cascading effect of swirling light and color .

Each pad in The Pool is its own wireless controller. All of the 106 pads communicate and listen to each other in an organic network formed in the same way people interact. The Pool has no single master computer and does not use a router to route or control connections. Each pad is independent, and simultaneously interacts and listens to its environment based on user feedback. Together, the 106 pads create complex, surprising, and unpredictable color arrays with their user participants.

video after the break

via [SparkFun] and [BlueInk.com]