Feeling chirpy: BERG birds respond to Twitter feeds

London – Design studio BERG has created a web-connected cuckoo clock in which birds are programmed to poke their heads out to announce Twitter messages, retweets and new followers.

Following its Little printer project, which we reported in our Little Printer Innovate, BERG is again playing with online space and testing its limitations to create tactile experiences.

The #Flock project, built using the BERG Cloud operating system, consists of four wooden houses painted in Twitter blue. One is a clock, while each of the others contains a bird. The three birds are programmed to respond to activity on Twitter, poking their heads out when there are retweets, new followers or direct messages.

Although the device is not designed for commercial use, BERG has demonstrated how digital data can be visualised and given physical expression.