[Kemper Smith] developed a bit piece of nature in Processing. He was inspired by a biology experiment that ecstatic squid cells using electricity. The result is an interactive display that mimics that biology.

Last August we saw a peculiar experiment that required Cyprus hill music on the color changing cells of a squid. The cells make colors by stretching sacs of pigment; the larger they get the a lot more of that color is shown. usually this is used for camouflage. The image on the left is the reaction from linking headphone wires while music is being played.

But we can’t all get our hands on this type of wet-ware — especially if life far inland. So [Kemper] got to work writing some Processing code. The result is seen on the right. It does a good job of replicating the motion and color combination of the original. He’s put together a web-based demonstration which you can interact with using your mouse cursor. but we also saw him demonstrate a Kinect based version at our local hackerspace.