Abstract
The Sonic Kayak is a musical instrument used to investigate nature and developed during open hacklab events. The kayaks are rigged with underwater environmental sensors, which allow paddlers to hear real-time water temperature sonifications and underwater sounds, generating live music from the marine world. Sensor data is also logged every second with location, time and date, which allows for fine-scale mapping of water temperatures and underwater noise that was previously unattainable using standard research equipment. The system can be used as a citizen science data collection device, research equipment for professional scientists, or a sound art installation in its own right.
Highlights
The essence of scientific research is the exploration of the unknown and the discovery of something new
We used 3 layers of sound, including real-time sonification of the data obtained from digital thermometers, a live feed from a hydrophone, and global positioning system (GPS)-triggered sounds placed in different geographical locations (S4 Text provides detailed information on the sound design)
Testing indicates that the Sonic Kayak system has potential as low-cost research equipment, immediately in the fields of climate change and marine noise, and in other fields related to water monitoring
Summary
The essence of scientific research is the exploration of the unknown and the discovery of something new. Underwater sounds, detected by hydrophones (underwater microphones), are played through speakers, along with data from 2 digital thermometers sonified in real time This allows the paddler to explore the underwater environment through sound. We used 3 layers of sound, including real-time sonification of the data obtained from digital thermometers, a live feed from a hydrophone, and GPS-triggered sounds placed in different geographical locations (S4 Text provides detailed information on the sound design). All samples used are available open source here: http://archive.org/details/sonic-kayak-audio-swansea Instead of developing this project as a small closed team, we launched open invitations for participation and collaboration via two 1-day hacklab events to attract more diverse skills and allow co-creation from the outset and co-learning across disciplines. The loudest root-mean-square sound pressure level (SPLRMS), representing the mean broadband sound level for a given time period over a wide frequency range) occurred near to Falmouth Marina and consisted of peaks at specific frequencies from 200 Hz–10 kHz (identified in red in Fig 4, further information can be found in S1 Text)
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