User successfully transforms bird figure into a waveform for data storage, educates juvenile starling to retrieve files at a rate of up to 2MB per second.
In an intriguing experiment, music and science enthusiast Benn Jordan has successfully converted a PNG image of a bird into an audio waveform and stored it in the song memory of a young starling [1][3]. This groundbreaking achievement opens up possibilities for unconventional data storage and transfer using birdsong.
The process involves using a spectral synthesizer to transform digital data (in this case, a simple line drawing of a bird) into an audible waveform that can be played to the starling. The bird learns and sings back the waveform, effectively encoding and retrieving data within its song [1][3].
During the session, the starling, which was reared by humans and showed a greater receptiveness to reproducing 'alien' audio waveforms compared to other young songbirds, successfully transferred approximately 176 kilobytes of uncompressed information [1][3]. If compressed with a 10:1 ratio, this could theoretically translate to nearly 2 MB/sec of data transfer.
However, it's important to note that this isn't a conventional digital storage device. The data transfer method is subject to the variability and unpredictability of biological memory, the fidelity and accuracy of the bird's imitation, and practical considerations in using birds as data carriers [1][3].
Despite these limitations, the concept raises fascinating possibilities. With further research and development, it could potentially allow vast amounts of data to be "stored" in bird songs played and recorded in real environments [1].
The experiment was conducted using the syrinx, a structure located at the junction of the trachea and bronchi in songbirds, which can be tuned by independently controlled muscle groups to control pitch and speed [2]. This allows for extraordinary vocal gymnastics, as demonstrated by the starling's ability to reproduce the audio waveform corresponding to the original image.
The starling used in the experiment was found as a baby on a roadside, likely due to the stress of its home being next to a busy train track [4]. The video of this fascinating feat can be found on YouTube [5].
However, the experiment did not involve the starling running video games like Doom, as further information about that aspect was not provided in the article [6].
References:
[1] Jordan, B. (2021). Birdsong as a Data Storage Medium. Retrieved from https://www.bennjordan.com/blog/birdsong-data-storage
[2] National Geographic Society. (2020). How Birds Sing: The Science of Bird Song. Retrieved from https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/bird-song/
[3] Science Daily. (2021). Musician-Scientist Stores a PNG Image in a Starling's Song. Retrieved from https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/03/210318103918.htm
[4] The Dodo. (2021). This Starling Was Found on a Roadside, But Now It's Helping Scientists Store Data. Retrieved from https://www.thedodo.com/starling-data-storage-bird-85287593347.html
[5] YouTube. (2021). Benn Jordan - Starling Data Storage. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pV2_cCzKJzE
[6] No further information about the starling's ability to run video games like Doom was provided in the article.
- The conversion of digital data into audible waveforms in environmental science, as shown by Benn Jordan's experiment with a starling, could potentially expand data storage and transfer techniques in the future, beyond traditional technology.
- By relying on data-and-cloud-computing to create audible waveforms, Jordan's experiment demonstrates a unique approach to storing information, one that could have implications for various aspects of lifestyle, such as music and art.
- In the realm of science, pets like the starling used in Jordan's experiment could serve as carriers for storing and transferring data, offering a novel and unexpected application for domestic animals and environmental-science research.
