03 / Lab

Lab

The background is alive
(sort of)

The pattern behind every page simulates Physarum polycephalum, a slime mold that forms efficient transport networks. It follows the agent model described by Jeff Jones (2010) and the GPU approach popularised by Sage Jenson.

  1. Each agent has a position and a heading, stored in a floating-point texture.
  2. Every step, an agent samples the trail map at three sensors (left, forward and right) and turns toward the strongest one.
  3. It moves forward and deposits a little pheromone where it lands.
  4. The trail map is blurred and decays slightly, so unused paths fade away.

Your pointer acts as a food source, and the agents swarm toward it. Hold the pointer down and it repels them instead. Use VIEW in the bottom corner to hide the page and watch the simulation.