Exhibits and demos to play
There's something very seductive about the movement of fluids. Whether it's water in a stream, or smoke rising from a fire the patterns are similar and beautiful in their complexity. We've been doing some experimentation and managed to create a fully functional simulation of a wind tunnel. You can choose different vehicles and see how they perform or use the brush and draw your own streamlined shape. To do this we've had to solve the Navier-Stokes equation which until recently was the preserve of dedicated high power computers. These days however, you can try it yourself if you've got a recent multi-processor PC. Even if your PC is getting on a bit you can still see the video. Go on, give it a go.
Try the wind tunnel >
Joe's niece received an interesting toy for Christmas. It was a small plastic car which would follow any line that you drew on a piece of paper. After spending a while playing with this we were inspired to create a game based on the same idea. In Ants you have to guide a small group of er, ants by drawing a trail for them to follow. The little creatures are pretty obedient but as the levels progress it gets much trickier than you'd think.
Play Ants >
This demo lets you create beautiful symmetrical pattens with ease. Although very simple to use it's enormously engaging and everyone who tries it produces their own style of image.
Do some drawing >
The ball game is inspired by an old favourite, but with a clean, stripped back style. To play, you simply match balls of the same colour. Sounds easy, but as the levels go on it becomes more challenging and addictive.
Play the ball game >
This demo shows off several visual effects and activities. They range from the "kaliedoscope" effect shown above to the motion based "blur" and "wiggle" effects. There's also the more abstract "fly" and the "snow" game in which you have to wipe the snow from your screen quicker than it falls. You'll need a webcam to try these demos.
Try some camera tricks >