Understand the universe of spiders and “talk” to them by triggering their webs.

A few years ago, researchers proposed that it should be inspired by cobwebs Isolate noise. At the beginning of the week, a Team Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT, United States) During the spring meeting of the American Society of Chemistry (ACS), on the contrary, it was announced that the structure of a spider’s web should be translated into rhythms and melodies. In the future, a way to interact with these little eight-legged beasts. Also, improve our 3D printing technologies.

Because spiders appear to be mistresses Thing From Construction 3D. More than 47,000 different species are on hand to demonstrate the effectiveness of their work in protecting them and acting as their home and prey trap. Understanding how spiders build their webs in space can help engineers understand techniques more effectivelyAppearance 3D.

But the idea came to them mainly from the fact that spiders live in the environment “Vibrating ropes”. “Spiders can’t look good. They feel the world Vibrations For example, when they build their web or when a fly gets caught in it and pulls a thread of silk ”, Explains Marcus Buhler, a researcher at MIT ACS News Release.

Sonication is a stunning new example

With his team, he did a scan Spider web With laser to make 2D cuts. A computer algorithm helped him to reconstruct the problem of the network in 3D. He then assigned different frequencies to the threads of the canvas. Inspired by what happens with a guitar string. They have become melodies, until they create notes that are attached to the structure of the canvas. The researchers played them with the help of an instrument similar to a harp.

Going a little further, MIT researchers imagined an environment Virtual reality Its structural properties allow it to enter the canvas by capturing the sounds emitted. “By listening to it and watching it, you can begin to truly understand the environment in which a spider lives.”, Promise Marcus Beauhler.

Researchers also worked on the construction phase of the canvas. By scanning a web created by his spider, they turned each step into music with different sounds. And this work in particular gives us hope to improve the design of 3D printers in the future. “The method of‘ printing ’the spider web is remarkable because no Subject Most of the current 3D printing methods do not use any support as required ”, Underscores Marcus Beauhler.

As mentioned in the introduction, the team now hopes to learn how to interact with spiders. Their own Language. To do this, the researchers recorded the vibrations of the web created by the different functions of the spider. Now they are trying to create artificial signals like them. “If we expose a spider to these signals, can it affect its behavior and start ‘talking’ with it?” The question is exciting ”, Concludes Marcus Buhler.