Morphon

3D (Stereographic) Visualization based on Cellular Automata

(Part of the MAT End of Year Show 2011, in Collaboration with Qian Liu)

Morphon is a visualization of Cellular Automata in 3D, for a specific rule set and the structures/patterns that emerge from it. Cellular Automaton is a discrete mathematical model studied in a number of advanced scientific fields. In its most elementary form it is a one dimensional row of cells, each with one of two possible states (ON or OFF) at any discrete moment of time, based on the states of its two neighboring cells and its previous self. There are rules governing this change of states over time, and thus emerges a complex mix of patterns sometimes periodic and sometimes highly stochastic from very basic building blocks.

This project investigates a subset of an extremely wide range of possibilities to visualize 3D Cellular Automata and explore the generative structures that emerge in the process. The user can interact with the emergent structures with an iPhone interface that communicates with the app using OSC messages. The sonification process is very basic in that it maps the number of living cells at any time to the number of instruments.