Chat with Dolphins on your Mac

Seadragon2dot1 is out.

Double-click on the jar file to launch the application.

Works on a Mac with Java 5 (free download from Apple). Requires Mac OS X v. 10.4.4 or later.

(Also works with Windows with Java 5 from http://java.com/)

Downloads:

There are two jar files available (you use one): Seadragon2dot1at10fsps.jar and Seadragon2dot1at40fsps.jar. The first one is for 10 frequency samples per second (fsps) and the second one is for 40 fsps. If you have an older computer, you could use the one for 10 fsps and probably do fine.

The jar files can be downloaded from http://sourceforge.net/projects/c2h/

You can also download the source code: Seadragon2dot1_src_20060818 (.zip)

Testing:

To start testing seadragon in air, whistle s2 is a good first test. Whistle s2 comes with seadragon, you don't have to design it.

I connect a headphones and a microphone in the RCA jacks of the machine. I do not wear the headphones. I position the microphone near the headphones.

In order to make Seadragon listen to itself, disable the self-filter by opening the Controls tab (in the right half of the main window) and by deselecting the Self-Filtering Enabled check box.

The message window should then display an item like this in the rectangle under EMITTED AND ACQUIRED SIGNALS:

3 2006.08.19-17:30:41 from Seadragon> Self-Filtering is now disabled (h emissions are processed)

The h and H characters by themselves usually stand for human, and the c's and C's stand for for cetacean (i.e., dolphin).

To emit whistle s2, type s2 in the rectangle under the Emit button and then press the Enter key of your keyboard or select the Emit button.

If the system (which includes your mic and headphones) is working properly, then Seadragon should display these two new messages (under EMITTED AND ACQUIRED SIGNALS):

4 2006.08.19-17:32:23 from H> s2
5 2006.08.19-17:32:24 from C> ((( s2 )))

The ((( ))) characters around the s2 name mean that Seadragon has recognized the whistle s2, as if it came from a dolphin. This kind of tests helps verifying that all components are working properly, from the emiting process to the recognition process, including the hydrophones, when performed with underwater whistles instead of whistles in air.

For more details on the format of whistles names, read the text in the bottom window of the Signals tab.

When using Seadragon with dolphins, it is recommended to enable self-filtering by selecting the Self-Filtering Enabled check box in the Controls tab, so that you do not confuse your emissions with those of dolphins, in the message window (EMITTED AND ACQUIRED SIGNALS).

For a detailed view of the acquired sounds, you could use the Spectrogram tab. It must first be enabled by a check box in the Controls tab.