Acoustic Artificial Life
We are hiring a Master thesis worker for the science-art project ‘R,’ which revolves around co-evolution between humans, animals, and technical agents. The acoustic niche hypothesis states that all agents in a shared acoustic ecology evolve to divide the sonic spectrum to allow effective intra-species communication.
The project aims to create multiple artificial life forms that learn to communicate acoustically in urban soundscapes. These artificial agents evolve using evolutionary programming and deep learning techniques to find their acoustic niche. The evolved sonic agents are integral to an artistic soundscape installed in self-driving robotic buses moving self-determined in the Kalasatamaa area in Helsinki.
We are looking for a student with a strong background in machine learning and audio. A plus is an interest in artificial life and sound design. The project team comprises a wild mix of art and technology people. Thus, being passionate about interdisciplinary work and creative problem-solving are essential.
The final piece will be presented in a public installation in August 2023. The ideal timeline for the project is Jan - August 2023. The technical supervisor is prof. Sebastian J. Schlecht, and the artistic supervisor is prof. Laura Beloff.
If you’re interested in this position, please email sebastian.schlecht@aalto.fi, attach your CV, study transcript, and motivational letter, and familiarize yourself with the two articles below.
Related Work
- Krause, B. The Niche Hypothesis: A virtual symphony of animal sounds, the origins of musical expression and the health of habitats. (1993).
- Kadish, D., Risi, S. & Beloff, L. An artificial life approach to studying niche differentiation in soundscape ecology. Artif Life Conf Proc 52–59 (2019) doi:10.1162/isal_a_00140.
