Music Based on a Spider Web

In a new study that focuses on joining music, a spider's web, and technology, researchers from MIT have translated the structure of a web into music. Whenever the spider stretches a silk strand or the wind moves through the web, the said vibrations occur, and as someone with a deep interest in music. This fact made researchers wonder whether they could extract rhythms and melodies from the spider webs. They scanned a spider web with a laser to capture 2D cross-sections. Computer algorithms were used to reconstruct the web’s 3D network. Various frequencies of sound were assigned to strands of the web, thus creating notes that, when combined, create melodies based on the web's structure.

Afterward, a harp-like instrument was created to play the spider web music. They also made a virtual reality setup that allowed people to see and take a listen inside the web. Moreover, to learn more about the web building process of the spiders, the construction process was also scanned, and each stage was transformed into music. In another experiment, the researchers examined the sound changes inside the web when confronted with forces such as stretching. This study not only sounds pleasant to the ear, but also could see possible utilization in building 3D printers that build complex microelectronics and across-species communication.

More information:

https://interestingengineering.com/science/scientists-made-music-from-the-structure-of-a-spider-web

Underwater Drones Detect Treasures

The SeaSearcher is an experimental platform that is focused on localizing objects of interest ranging from the sea-bottom to several meters below the bottom. It offers the technology to perform high-resolution 3D imaging below the sea-bottom in real-time on an autonomous vehicle has not. The underwater drone might change the way the industry as a whole will operate in the future.

Seafarer has three different work platforms (boats) to work off of with three different crews on the site and a small run-about anchor boat. The three work boats have experienced crew members of at least four divers per boat. Seafarer utilizes three archeologists, one with a doctorate from Oxford and two with over thirty years experience each in the treasure industry.

More information:

https://interestingengineering.com/innovation/underwater-drones-33-feet-beneath-seabed

Dead Spiders Become Robots

Scientists have literally reanimated dead spiders to do their bidding. In a new field dubbed necrobotics, researchers converted the corpses of wolf spiders into grippers that can manipulate objects. All the team had to do was stab a syringe into a dead spider’s back and superglue it in place. Pushing fluid in and out of the cadaver made its legs clench open and shut. The team first tried putting dead wolf spiders in a double boiler, hoping that the wet heat would make the spiders expand and push their legs outward. That didn’t work.

But when the researchers injected fluid straight into a spider corpse, they found that they could control its grip well enough to pull wires from a circuit board and pick up other dead spiders. Only after hundreds of uses did the necrobots start to become dehydrated and show signs of wear. In the future, the researchers will coat spiders with a sealant to hold off that decline. But the next big step is to control the spiders’ legs individually, and in the process, figure out more about how spiders work. Then they could translate their understanding into better designs for other robots.

More information:

https://www.sciencenews.org/article/dead-wolf-spiders-robots-necrobots