BIRDSONG DIAMOND @ ARS ELECTRONICA

Bird Song Diamond is a site- and habitat-specific interactive installation based on long-term research (2011-present), involving multifaceted, interdisciplinary perspectives—uniquely connecting the nodes of evolutionary biology, artificial intelligence and life, spatial sound, mathematics and mechatronics.
The Deep Space 8K version features bird songs from Austria and Japan—reflecting the unique relationship of these two cultures at Ars Electronica. Inspired by the thousand-cranes story, it evolves into a million birds and drones that address the complex relationship of machine, human and animal through multi-dimensional sound, video, and origami-based designs.
Audiences are engaged by attempting to mimic bird songs and participate as a group with male to female vocalizations. The collective behavior influences the flocking, images and sound—all working in real time. The interaction produces three different dimensions or scenarios: looking at what birds find interesting—worms, seeds and nests; influencing the flocking; and witnessing how the birds and drones see us—in collective gatherings such as demonstrations and celebrations.

Credits
Victoria Vesna (artist, UCLA), Charles Taylor (evolutionary biologist, UCLA), Takashi Ikegami (physicist, University of Tokyo), Hiroo Iwata (engineer, University of Tsukuba), Reiji Suzuki (computer science, Nagoya University), Itsuki Doi (PhD candidate, Ikegami lab), John Brumley, Hikaru Hakatori (PhD candidates, Iwata lab), Naoki Chiba (master’s student, Suzuki lab)
www.birdsongdiamond.com