Fly Brain Simulator: turning a connectome into a musical instrument

Build a world and listen to its response

The chamber supports visual targets, threats, sound, food smells, wind, touch, and taste sources. Moving a source changes the simulated sensory input. Activity traces and playback-speed controls make the response easier to inspect.

The audio mixer maps steering, wing, and escape signals into synthesized sound. Recordings and activity exports let a session become something that can be revisited beyond the live interface.

Measured wiring meets an authored instrument

The browser application builds on the upstream fly.ai neural engine and connectome export. A Web Worker runs the simulation while the interface manages the chamber and controls. Web Audio turns selected activity into an audible output.

The repository describes a network of 166,700 neurons and about 25.1 million connections. Its bundled brain download is about 58 MB. Running the instrument locally does not require an account or API key.

Connectivity is only one part of the model

Measured connectivity does not make this a complete animal emulation. Neuron behavior is simplified, and the sensory inputs, movement mappings, and musical interpretation are designed interfaces. Food seeking uses an added decoder.

The interesting result is an explorable relationship between environment, activity, movement, and sound. It does not demonstrate consciousness, biological equivalence, or experimentally validated animal behavior.

Read the model before interpreting the music

The source README introduces the instrument and local setup. MODEL.md separates measured wiring from simulation assumptions and authored mappings, while the controls guide explains how to play and export a session.