News Yes, you can store data on a bird — enthusiast converts PNG to bird-shaped waveform, teaches young starling to recall file at up to 2MB/s

[Admin]

A music and science lover has demonstrated the capacity of birds to store and retrieve digital image data.

Yes, you can store data on a bird — enthusiast converts PNG to bird-shaped waveform, teaches young starling to recall file at up to 2MB/s : Read more

 

[Alex/AT]

AI was closer to us than everyone thought...

 

[chaos215bar2]

So, technically this wasn't a "PNG" if you carefully watch through the video. It would be more accurately described as a crude spectrogram image of a bird. Still extremely cool on many levels, but "PNG" implies lossless retrieval, which was absolutely not the case here.

 

[Alex/AT]

Actually a pity it's ROM and can't be erased easily. Otherwise pigeon mail could become a little new

 

[Alex/AT]

So, technically this wasn't a "PNG" if you carefully watch through the video. It would be more accurately described as a crude spectrogram image of a bird. Still extremely cool on many levels, but "PNG" implies lossless retrieval, which was absolutely not the case here.

If I read it correctly, it was PNG roughly converted (used as basis for) to spectrogram. Reverse FFT would get you the sample from this.

 

[Alvar "Miles" Udell]

It is indeed crazy that you can effectively ‘scan an image’ then reproduce it using birdsong, but it seems to have just happened.

Not really, it's been a thing for a while, since slow scan TV was developed in the 50s and then seemingly re-invented and improved ever since. See also the article on another Future PLC site last year. Doing it via bird is slightly more impressive but not really so considering how adept some birds are at repeating the same exact sound pitch perfectly.

https://www.digitalcameraworld.com/...u-can-transfer-images-via-radio-like-its-1989

 

[Phyzzi]

I just hope nobody tries to teach a starling "Rush E"

 

[Grayhawk77]

Yes, but can it play Doom?

 

[coder0xff]

So, technically this wasn't a "PNG" if you carefully watch through the video. It would be more accurately described as a crude spectrogram image of a bird. Still extremely cool on many levels, but "PNG" implies lossless retrieval, which was absolutely not the case here.

I thought the same thing. Benn makes sort of a counterpoint in the video that an audible file transfer protocol can be used. I'm skeptical of the data rate he quoted, but lossless reproduction of a bitstream is certainly achievable. Lower bit rates are more robust in fact.

 

[drivinfast247]

Birds aren't real!

 

[kwato]

Is it just me or have there been some seriously radical advances in tech lately? Absolutely mind blowing!