Video: Scientists create music out of spider web structure

In order to detect the environment around them, spiders rely heavily on touch.

Their bodies and legs are coated in microscopic hairs and slits that allow them to differentiate between different vibrations.

Prey stumbling into a web produces a completely different vibratory cacophony than, say, another spider wooing or the stirring of a breeze.

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A web's strands emit varied tones.

Scientists collaborated with artist Tomás Saraceno to create Spider's Canvas, an interactive musical instrument that translates the three-dimensional structure of a spider's web into music.

Later, the team improved and expanded on their prior work, including the addition of an interactive virtual reality component that allows users to access and engage with the web.

According to the researchers, this research will not only help them better grasp the three-dimensional construction of a spider's web, but it may also help humans learn spiders' vibrational language.

(With inputs from agencies)