Mechanical crickets rule mysterious garden

Outside the Mattress Factory art gallery in Pittsburgh, a ruined yard resembles a locale from Ico's sun-washed and abandoned castle. Normally, the space is silent save for water trickling down a stone gulley that divides it. For the next few weeks, however, a relentless tock tock tock surrounds any who explore the area, thanks to an army of robotic woodblocks hidden in the grass. Though seemingly placed at random, they speak to one another under the command of John Conway's Game of Life, responding to neighboring calls using an simple algorithm that yields surprisingly chaotic results.

Created by artist Keny Marshall, "Crickets" will be on display throughout BigBots, Pittsburgh's summer robotics festival. More photos after the jump.