Flock
Emergent water whistles
Flock is a system of flutes that can respond to each other. Their behaviour and the melody emerge from their interaction. The system is scalable and consists of autonomous robotic Peruvian water whistles. Flock takes one of the oldest instruments in human history and infuses it with technology.
On top of interacting with each other each agent can be set to respond to any desired frequency, this allows for external sound to influence the emergent system.
“What happens when ancient instruments are infused with intelligent technology?”
Peruvian water whistles have been around for millennia. The craft of making them has been handed down from generation to generation. There is however hardly any documentation on how they work. The basic working principle is relatively simple. There are two chambers that contain water. When the instrument is tilted the water flows from one chamber into the other through a connecting pipe, pushing air out of a whistle.
However, the key to making Peruvian water whistle function properly is getting the ratios between the dimensions right. A parametric model in combination with 3D printing technology enabled the successful reverse engineering of this ancient instrument.
Each of the robots has its own on-board micro-controller. The agent listens to the outside world through a microphone. When it hears a frequency it recognizes, it will return the call by tilting its whistle. Depending on what frequency it hears and at what volume, the agent will respond differently.
Each agent has its own unique design and frequency to signify their individuality in the system. The aesthetics are recognizably parametric displaying the method of reverse engineering through parametric design. The supporting structure of wood and steel is minimalistic so the instrument is the focal point of the design.