With bacteria expressing chromoproteins or fluorescent proteins. All parts taken from the Registry. See constructs here. See protocols here.

Using a webcam. Import the picture into the laptop and the Processing environment.

Processing is a coding language and environment that allows us to translate data from an image into binary data. Blob detection is an open-source code that allows us to detect areas of high contrast (bacterial colonies). We obtain the RGB value of the blobs detected, and convert the positions into a 16X16 grid. Click here to see our code.

Each position on the grid is mapped to a different note. Each row is the same note. Notes increase by half-steps in the column.

♪ ♫ ♪ ♫

Using a laser cutter, we created a custom tube rack. 8 slots allow our system to run on 4/4 time.

Our initial intention was to use bioluminescent, luciferase-generating bacteria. We realized the light from these constructs was dim and could only be seen in the dark, and thus not practical for our music generator. In the end, we switched to chromoprotein expressing bacteria. See constructs here. See protocols here.

Using a webcam. Import the picture into the laptop and the Processing environment.

Processing is a coding language and environment that allows us to identify the RGB value of a specific position and correlate that value with a drum sound. Click here to see our code.

Boots and cats and boots and cats.

We used equipment from the awesome company DFRobot. An Arduino board allows us to take the data from physical interaction (i.e pushing a button) into commands such as adding a sound layer or decreasing the volume.

Specifically we used:
7 buttons
5 sliders
1 Arduino Leonardo
3 bread boards
Lots of wires
Lots of screws
Lots of resistors
Lots of sodering

Click here to see the code.