Noisy Nest
Birdsongs fill the air of local spaces, but people can't connect what birds are behind their favorite tunes.
Noisy Nest is an interactive toy designed to teach and delight—helping users learn local bird calls and associate them with the species behind the song. Through playful exploration and tactile engagement,
Noisy Nest helps you deepen your connection with the natural world right outside your window.
Products Studio III Fall 2023-
Toys and Interactions
Project duration- 7 weeks
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Project Goals and Inspiration
My goal for this project was to create a toy or tool that connected people to nature.
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I thought about things that got me outside as a kid, and a lot of it had to do with wildlife, whether it was catching things from the stream, an Audubon Bird watching trip, or collecting bugs with my brother.
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I fondly remember being part of the frog watching society, where, for community service hours, we would listen to frog calls and document their calls in our local area.
I noted how learning frog calls allowed me to be more connected and aware of the ecosystem around me.
I decided a tool to teach these calls would be a perfect pursuit. The idea of frog calls evolved into bird calls which were way more plentiful in Pittsburgh.
Developing Concept
The final concept included a speaker box and a set of bird figurines. The birds would be placed on the speaker box, and, recognizing the species, would then play some of its calls when prompted.
A simple association of bird to call through tactile interactions and listening.
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Developing Prototypes
Developing Scale and experimenting with shape of a "nest" like speaker
3D print button scale tests
Progression of CAD models for the speaker base.
Final Speaker CAD
Look- Like Prototypes
Birds carved from dense foam, Chickadee, Robin and Cardinal
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I focused on specific details for identification such as: head and body proportions, tail shape, beak shape, and wing line.​​
I decided that with these features and coloring each bird would be distinguishable, and comparative to its real counterpart.
Bird Models on 3D print prototype of speaker
Interactive Prototype
Having this prototype helped me develop the feedback and interaction as well as portrayed the concept to others who were able to play with it.
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Place the bird on the nest
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[The nest would recognize what bird it was via a RFID insert]
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Press the button on the nest
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[The nest would play a track of the bird]
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Pressing the button again would play a different track for the same bird. The track wouldn't end unless it finished playing or the button was pressed again
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Final Render
