Experiments in Mosquito / Machine Communication: Truce from khs frst.
Truce is an interactive sound installation created by Robin Meier and Ali Momeni at the Spark Festival 2009 in Minneapolis.Male mosquitoes change their buzzing frequency to match that of the female mosquito during mating. Truce uses a computer to send a stimulus signal which the mosquito attempts to synchronize with and then another tone based on the mosquito's response. Each mosquito has a speaker and sensitive microphone, along with a light bulb to visually display the insect's activity.
Notes given to visitors:
We invite our visitors to interact with the mosquitoes. This interactions must be gentle; we request that you limit your interactions to one of two possibilities:
- Offering a finger tip for the mosquito to land: slowly approach the mosquito from below and stop about 1/4 inche away from the mosquito. The mosquito will recognize the landing spot and extend his/her legs to reach you.
- Exhaling on the mosquito: the carbon dioxide in our breath excites and entices the mosquitoes. Please avoid applying pressure to the mosquito, touching its wings, or touching the wire to which the mosquito is attached. These actions can hurt the mosquito, free the mosquito or produce undesirable sounds.
1 comments:
That is very weird, and a little creepy. This is the kind of thing people talk about at parties, but never actually do. Props to Robin and Ali.
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