We brought the orbs out to Yuri’s Night.

People really liked them.

Read about it in Engadget, CNet and Laughing Squid. :-)

I know we haven’t been keeping you peeps updated nearly enough. Let me make it up to you… we’re going to (at least) THREE shindigs soon!

First up, we’re going to Yuri’s Night at NASA Ames (http://sf.yurisnight.net/) Saturday April 12th from 2pm-2am!! They’re so excited to see us that we even got nice billing on some recent invitation emails. Groovy!

Next… we’re performing at this little music festival thing in SoCal. You’ve probably never heard of it. It’s called Coachella. Yessire! That’s right, 6 shiny metal orbs will be bounding around at the Coachella Music Festival (http://www.coachella.com/) Friday April 25th-27th! And us swarm-herders get to rub elbows with a bevy of music and art greats!

There’s talk about the orbs rolling to other festivals but it hasn’t been totally lined up yet so I don’t want to set the bar too too high. :-)

If SoCal is too far to go to catch orby delights, you’ll ALSO find us at Maker Faire (http://makerfaire.com/) Saturday May 3-4 in San Mateo.

Keep em rollin’!
Lee for SWARM

From Coreyfro:

While NASA is still bragging about teleoperated robots such as DEXTRE, DARPA continues to push the boundaries on autonomous robotics.

That’s because NASA nerds (or, well, two of us here at Ames, and technically, I’m a contractor) make autonomous robots for fun in our free time!

Auto choreographing, music composing, and light show generating orbs of gleaming aluminum!

Come see Orb Swarm at Yuri’s Night!

Legs? PFT! Legs are SOOOOO Precambrian era!

Here’s some SWARM Glamour Shots that Mark Alexander shot. It’s mid-August at the Box Shop

The machine art community in the Bay Area is one of the most vibrant scenes in the world. We’ve benefited enormously from our talented friends and colleagues in the area. Now it’s time to give back: we will be appearing on two consecutive nights at the SomArts gallery, to benefit two very worthy causes. Here’s the scoop:

Who: Those mavens of lipstick and accelerants, The Flaming Lotus Girls

What: A Gallery Show Fundraiser for the FLG’s!

When: Friday, November 30th, 2007, 7pm-1am

Where: Somarts Gallery 934 Brannan Street, San Francisco

Why: Because YOU want to see more super giant fire art!

Come join the hot ladies (and gentlemen) of the world-famous Flaming
Lotus Girls fire art group for an evening of art, flame and fabulous
outfits.

Over 40 different photographers and a handful of local artists have
donated their art for a silent auction benefiting the FLG’s, so they
can continue their quest for world domination through stainless steel
and kerosene.

The rest of the world deserves to see The Serpent Mother in all of her
168-foot majesty. Come enjoy the all the art and make this and other
amazing projects possible!

See more at http://www.flaminglotus.com

And also this the very next night:

The Blue & Green Ball - fundraiser for Todd Blair
Saturday, Dec 1st
SoMarts Gallery
934 Brannan Street
SF, CA
8pm - 1am
$10

Todd Blair is an artist extraordinaire, producer, curator and teacher
at California College of the Arts who needs your help. Todd was
injured in a tragic forklift accident in September at an arts festival
in Amsterdam where he was working as part of the Survival Research
Labs team. His condition remains serious and his recovery long. Todd
is still in recovery at a hospital in Amsterdam.

The “Blue & Green Ball” fundraiser for Todd will be held Saturday,
December 1st at SomArts Gallery, 934 Brannan Street, San Francisco,
CA. The event will take place from 8pm – 1am, entry fee is $10.

Entertainment will include DJ Vordo, Gibson Pearl Bellydancing, Art by
the Flaming Lotus Girls, Electromechanical, robotic, and interactive
art and more! There will also be a Live Auction of selected Fine Art,
Talent, and Collectibles. As part of this event, there will be a Shopping
Bazaar- including lots of unique crafts and art. Food and cocktails will
also be available.

Event website: http://srl.org/shows/events/todd/

A little too early to confirm, but there are rumors of a serendipitous SWARM at the Flaming Lotus Girls fundraiser. Should be a great time for a good cause, so see you there!

It was too hot to think, let alone point a camera straight, but I did get a few pictures:

The playa crew

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Geek Week camp Note 40-ft tower for the microwave link to Gerlach

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Breakfast for everyone!

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Hacking on the playa. Note specialized desert hacking gear: extra monitor, spent pyro, box of whippits (likely spent as well), sunglasses, insulated coffee mug.

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Danger Ranger’s mobile wifi rig, plus orb.

The group on the playa sent back some GPS telemetry off of the prototype orb. Matt converted the data to KML format. Here are the first GPS tracks of our prototype orb on the playa!

The lines are 3 GPS tracks. The image is from an image Google Earth took during Burning Man last year. Groovey! (here’s the original .kml files)

OK, so it’s not exactly our party, but as dedicated camp followers of the Flaming Lotus Girls we are going to crash theirs.

Details at the Squid List: Flaming Lotus Girls Mellow Toga Party.

Yes, it’s a Toga Party. Yes, you are expected to wear a toga. Come and mingle with the SWARMers and Loti. Wearing togas.

I have a reasonable suspicion that there may be alcohol involved.