Prototype for an analog electronic crow product coming soon! Stay tuned for launch announcement.
bird
Analog Electronic Crow /
The universe is made of energy, frequency, and vibration. Electricity is the Qi of life flowing through humans, birds, and circuits alike. My new "Analog Electronic Crow" (2022) is an evolution of Deep Fake Birdsong from 2020 in which I explore the power of electrically oscillating circuits to manifest intelligent behaviors. This circuit has only six oscillators: five astable multivibrators and one modified Hartley. It's battery operated so you can carry it around. Stay tuned for a product launch this Fall!
Printed Circuit Birds in Hackaday /
Thanks for the great article, Hackaday!
https://hackaday.com/2022/01/23/printed-circuit-bird-family-calls-for-us-to-consider-analog/
Printed Circuit Bird, 2021 /
Printed circuit bird, 2021. I created this work of electronic art to demonstrate the principles by which consciousness originates. The bird's circuitry is entirely analog electronic, which means that her song is not recorded but *generated* by adjustable vibrations in the circuit that forms her body. She is designed to vibrate when exposed to electricity, and we hear the resulting (audible) waveforms as a bird-like sound. Her circuit contains five analog electronic oscillators that are coupled together with a combination of resistors and capacitors. The vibrations of one oscillator affect the others, thus causing a degree of complexity and unpredictability that we wouldn't expect from such a simple circuit. It would be difficult to model this analog system because there are so many possible states, as I will attempt to explain below.
In the video, you see me adjusting variable resistors that affect the frequency, amplitude, and symmetry of the oscillations. The resulting changes in vibration are heard as tonal variation and patterns of sound, or "syntax" of the bird's song. In other words, we can hear the frequency, amplitude, and temporal structure of the waveform as it changes within the bird's circuit. Residual capacitance adds to the unpredictable nature of cause and effect. It is not only which knob I turn or how much, but *when* I make the adjustment relative to the state of the entire connected circuit. These are the continuous, interconnected, analog principles from which life-like behaviors arise. The late roboticist and neuroscientist William Grey Walter experimented with similar principles, notably demonstrated by his tortoise robots.
She is like us — we are electrical beings, too. The neural activity of a human brain is an aggregate of billions of oscillating neurons affecting each other to form thoughts and feelings. While each individual neuron is very simple, the complexity of the neural system is unfathomable. As Nikola Tesla said, "If you want to find the secrets of the universe, think in terms of energy, frequency and vibration." These physical laws are the basis of mind and our conscious universe.
The Justice of Judgment /
The Justice of Judgment, 2021. Installation of wooden panel with acrylic paint (48” x 48” x2”) and mixed media sculpture (60” x 36” x 36”). Audio is an edit of Monty Python’s “Holy Grail,” 1975
Circuit Bird /
Documentation of “Circuit Bird,” 2021, an adjustable analog electronic circuit for birdsong generation. The art is made with custom electronic hardware, printed circuit boards, foiled chipboard, and screen-printed silk laminated on a wooden frame. Dimensions are 35” tall by 23.5” wide by 1.5” deep. Watch the video to hear the circuit vibrate with birdsong. Notice the modular components of the circuit: I separated the oscillators, the passive coupling filters, and the audio amplifier into separate (but connected) printed circuit boards. This design enables me to assemble different quantities and configurations of oscillators to create new artworks based on the principle of vibration.
Bluebird PCB v.10 /
Bluebird PCB v1.0, 2020. Printed circuit board (analog electronic birdsong generator)
Bluebird /
Bluebird, 2020. Printed circuit board.
I recently completed a new PCB design for manufacture. In addition to testing a new singing circuit, I am experimenting with the visual potential of inks available through conventional factories, for example, blue solder mask and bare copper. Above: The first two images are some of my machine production layers. The colorful image is my design reference file — illustrating how I expect the finished board to look.