Creating Sustained Tones with the Cicada's Rapid Sequential Buckling Mechanism

The cicada uses a rapid sequence of buckling ribs to initiate and sustain vibrations in its tymbal plate (the primary mechanical resonator in the cicada's sound production system). The tymbalimba, a music controller based on this same mechanism, has a row of 4 convex aluminum ribs (ason the cicada's tymbal) arranged much like the keys on a calimba. Each rib is spring loaded and capable of snapping down into a V-shape (a motion referred to as buckling), under the downward force of the user's finger. This energy generated by the buckling motion is measured by an accelerometer located under each rib and used as the input to a physical model.