Recognition of sounds by ensembles of proteinoids

Abstract

Proteinoids are artificial polymers that imitate certain characteristics of natural proteins, including self–organization, catalytic activity, and responsiveness to external stimuli. This paper examines the acoustic response properties of proteinoids microspheres when exposed to auditory stimuli. We convert sounds of English alphabet into waveforms of electrical potential, feed the waveforms into proteinoid solutions and record electrical responses of the proteinoids. We also undertake a detailed comparison of proteinoids’ electrical responses (frequencies, periods, and amplitudes) with original input signals. We found that responses of proteinoids are less regular, lower dominant frequency, wider distribution of proteinoids and less skewed distribution of amplitudes compared with input signals. We found that resonant acoustic excitation of proteinoids generates unique electrical impulse patterns dependent on sound frequency and amplitude. The finding will be used in further designs of organic electronic devices, based on ensembles of proteinoids, for sound processing and speech recognition. Our findings provide the first quantitative investigation into the potential of thermal proteinoid microspheres for bio–inspired sound processing and recognition applications. Using controlled speaker excitation on proteinoid samples, we create reliable markers of productive acoustic response capacities, paving the way for future advancement.