experiment

Printed Circuit Bird, 2021 /  by kelly heaton

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.

Breadbird (No. 1), 2020 /  by kelly heaton

Sound on. “Breadbird (No. 1),” 2020. In order to convey the core of my electronic practice, I built this demonstration piece featuring five oscillators and an audio transformer circuit. The oscillators have adjustable base resistors which enable me to alter the pattern (and therefore the song). Does this oscillating circuit have something in common with bird neurology?

pollination: geography bee /  by kelly heaton

I've recently started an experiment with my bees that involves a wood frame and wax foundation in the shape of the United States (lower 48).  In two weeks, they've made a lot of progress and show a knack for US geography without any prompting on my part.  California and the Pacific NW are extremely popular and apparently too small, as the bees have built burr comb to make the west coast bigger.  They have built-up the Rocky Mountains as the high point of their map; and constructed a very large island off the coast of the Northeast.  Perhaps an enlargement of overcrowded Manhattan?  Otherwise, there's not much happening on the East coast.  They've made some progress on the northern section of the Appalachian mountains, maybe a Catskills retreat for Manhattan bees to get away.  Florida gets zero attention because the peninsula is too small for bees to make it worth their effort.  The Southeast, Midwest and Texas are basically flat but above sea level (if you imagine the wood frame to be their ocean).  Nearly all of the nectar and pollen are stored in the bread basket of our nation.  Good job little geography bees!