Cochlea

(see project site here)

Cochlea is an interactive sculptural artwork based on the inner ear, which is composed of small hairs, that receive aural input, analyze it based on component frequencies, and send corresponding electrical signals to the brain.

Cochlea is a sculpture, made out of plexiglass, 32 led’s, piezo sensors, ribbon, a microphone, and paint. The cochlea both analyzes the frequency of incoming sound and outputs sound based on what region it is stimulated, either by blowing or touching. Users can “play” the cochlea as if it were a musical instrument, by touching different parts of the coil-shape structure, which trigger synthesized sounds that correspond to the frequencies of aural input received at that region of the cochlea. There is also a microphone on the end of the structure, which analyzes the frequency of incoming sound, and based on the region of the human cochlea that interprets the incoming frequencies, the sculpture lights up, so the viewer can visualize the activity in that region of the organ. The cochlea creates its own loop of incoming sound analysis and sound output.

read on to see photos of our process