ListenTree: An Augmented Listening Experience

We used a custom designed amplification device to sonify a tree at the San Diego Zoo so that guests hear crystal clear audio when hugging the trunk.

Only a small percentage of guests read signage, and in general plants themselves are silent. We used a custom-designed system to give a voice to a tree— guests hear a very faint murmur from a distance, and only when an ear is placed directly upon the trunk does the audio become perfectly clear. All hardware is invisible, and guests are enchanted. For the first time, the forest can tell its story.

with G. Dublon and E. Portocarrero (MIT).