The Zoolophone is a glockenspiel with keys shaped like zoo animals. It’s adorable, right? Turns out it’s also a pretty cool engineering experiment.
Although it looks like a children’s toy, the musical instrument is the result of two years of research by professors at MIT, Harvard, and Columbia universities. They wanted to know how they might use a computer algorithm to develop shapes that produce specific frequencies and vibrations. The idea is that by learning more about how shape impacts sound, designers could create quieter fans, bridges that don’t amplify vibrations under stress—oh, and neat musical instruments.
via Wired
