#HTE

In the province of Drenthe in the Netherlands, around seven and a half acres of forest are lit up at night by more than a thousand pulsating red lights. The lights can communicate with each other, and are meant to behave like a flock of birds, a school of fish, or a single “digital organism.”

Each battery-powered light, called a “Pixie,” is nestled on a diamond-shaped wooden plaque, and contains a microprocessor that sends signals to other Pixies in the forest. Each microprocessor is equipped with certain “behavioral rules” that tell the Pixies how often and how quickly they should send signals to surrounding Pixies.

Small groups (no more than eight people) who visit the installation in the village of Drouwen are given two Pixie…

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