Sensory Cane

Inspired by scientific research conducted at the Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle into the echolocation techniques used by bats to detect and identify elements in their environment, the “Sensory Cane” offers a new form of education in living things by enhancing our senses. It helps us to perceive surrounding natural phenomena that previously went unnoticed: vibrations in the air and ground, air masses, animal and insect rustling, and so on. It is also equipped with an echolocation function, enabling precise orientation, day and night, just like bats. Its use enables us to better sense our environment, understand it and appreciate all its subtleties.

This artefact was designed in partnership with the Institut des Futurs Souhaitables as part of the Sensory Odyssey exhibition, presented at the Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle (MNHN) in Paris. The aim of the exhibition is to explore the world through the senses. With this in mind, the Big Bang Project agency came up with three fictitious innovations inspired by the remarkable properties observed in certain organisms from the environments explored by visitors to the exhibition, as well as current scientific research, to propose a desirable vision of a world built on the principle of bio-inspiration.

Sensory Cane was exhibited at the Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle in Paris from October 2021 to July 2022.