Research Project

My previous design looked into the bio-luminescence of mold under UV light. I discovered a new subject to observe since then called Dinoflagellates. These Dinoflagellates are aquatic protists with some unique properties. The part I'm interested in is their ability to fluoresce. In order to fluoresce, these protists create a chemical reaction with luciferin and scintillons within their bodies. When threatened, vacuoles open up in their bodies and allow water in to lower the ph. When low enough, the chemical reaction takes place and produces a bright blue flash of light. They can feel threatened very easily, even if it's just a disturbance in the water they live in.  
 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2xh9-UPSlU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqJbUKEPgXc

Phase 1 consists of the production of a container to house the dinoflagellates. Materials: container x4, wood (base), Painted plexi lid

Phase 2 utilizes motors, an arduino, and 4 controllers to adjust the motor power

Phase 3 utilizes a laptop running max 7 and 4 webcams.

This is the complete setup

The Idea that I'm working with is that I want to connect sound to the light emitted by the Dinos. Each of the webcams monitor a different container full of them. max will interperet each footage differently and assign each one to a different note if the color blue is seen. The tough thing about this is that dinos have a circadian rhythm and follow day night cycles. I could make this a closed environment and put in an aquarium light on a 24 hour timer in order to make them light up during the day.