#point light model

Beautiful kinetic sculpture "Study for Fifteen Points / I" by Random International. Hat tip to Creative Applications.

The art piece references the popular point light model by Swedish experimental psychologist Gunnar Johansson, which is often used in cognitive science and perception research. Human beings are finely attuned to the patterns of biological motion and can infer three-dimensional human (or animal) movement based on what would seem like arbitrary dots if they were still.

Check out some of the interactive tests by the BioMotion Lab to play with different run/walk cycles using only point light models.

Walk Cycle Run Cycle