Don’t miss this month’s featured Science Side Show from OpenLab, hosting an interactive station that visualizes sound at the California Academy of Sciences' NightLife LIVE: September 10 at 6:00.
UCSC OpenLab Mechatronics group: Zach Corse, Adam Fischer, David Harris, Andre Marquetti, Sean Pace, and Steven Trimmer created a water tank that translates the auditory into the visual by way of vibration. As low frequencies match the intrinsic harmonics of the tank, they excite the dancing localized waves on the surface. Different frequencies excite different patterns in the reflective pool.
OpenLab is Prof. Jennifer Parker's arena for exploration of the relationship of art and science. Mechatronics is the functional integration of mechanical, electronic, and information technologies. In Digital Arts and New Media Program at UCSC this framework may be employed for the development and production of physical, systems-based artwork that incorporates elements of robotics, motion control, software engineering, and hardware design.