Sound Catcher

Hugo Fowler and Siena Jekel
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S: 

The area around Alewife brook reservation is fast paced and full of commuters. However, the ecology of the area is very rich and diverse. The Sound Catcher is a portable wearable that collects sounds from the wearer’s environment in order to allow them to feel more relaxed and in touch with the ecology of the park.


The Sound Catcher is a interactive device to help commuters in urban environments slow down and enjoy nature. The project is constructed by using a microphone to catch noise and amplify it, while using a sound channeling form, somewhat cone-like in shape. to only focus on nature instead of the urban environment. The Sound Catcher has a 3d printed mounting piece that attaches to somebody's arm so they could point the device at a bird or a tree rustling in the wind and they would hear what they pointed at much louder than they would have originally. The directional experience of pointing the device at a sound creates a visual link between humans and birds, trees, or other sources of nature sounds. The user would wear a pair of headphones and connect the sound catcher to their computer, this would allow them to experience the beauty of the environment. 

H:

The Sound Catcher is a portable device that collects sounds from the wearer’s environment in order to allow them to feel more relaxed and in touch with the ecology of the reservation. It is a microphone surrounded by a sound-isolating cone, designed to help you only hear what you want to hear.

         The area around alewife is fast-paced and full of commuters. The project helps someone get in touch with the environment. It is for someone who passes through the area and does not notice the beauty of it, and it will help them slow down and experience nature more fully and ignore the urban areas. It works by collecting sound from a certain area only, which is done by covering the microphone with sound reflecting material on the inside, and sound dampening material on the outside.