Sharing data through audio with digital birdsong

A technology called Chirp, developed at UCL Department of Computer Science spinout Animal Systems, and based on ‘digital birdsong’ allows the sharing of data through audio.

Using sound to encode short links to information means that any device with a microphone can receive audio - including phones, TVs, laptops, tablets, and more. Since the data encoded in ‘chirps’ is transmitted as sound, it can also be received by many devices simultaneously and then locally decoded, without the need for cables, wifi or a clear line-of-sight.

The distinctive sound of Chirp has been carefully engineered to work at low volumes, even in noisy places, and therefore to be reliable over short ranges, as well as to sound pleasing to the ear. The project was initially funded by a UCL Business Proof of Concept award, and the company was founded by Professor Anthony Steed and Patrick Bergel from UCL Department of Computer Science. More staff have come on board as the company develops.

The technology has been trialled for transmitting data in nuclear powerplants, where using electromagnetic radiation could potentially cause dangerous interference. Bus passengers have also experimented with transmitting their tickets with a trill. In collaboration with the games company Activision, children used Chirp to share their characters in the game ‘Skylanders’ without needing to configure account details or access the internet.

Professor Steed described the initial technology: “Because we use simple human-range audio to communicate short references to data on networks, we can use all sort of simple devices as communication relays.” 

Many more applications of the technology are possible, particularly as the technology needed to develop chirps is miniaturised. 

Just one example of how research from UCL Computer Science could change the world.