Robert Knottenbelt's interest in science and new technologies led to his use of computer-aided design processes to develop compositions such as i sing of time tide. Generally, these works allude to biological phenomena, a subject of great interest to the artist since the beginning of hid career.

i sing of time tide, with its honeycomb grid based on the microscopic structure of a plant, belongs to the artist's Diatoms series. This series title refers to an ancient species of aquatic plant.

These works begin as sketches on graph paper. They are interpreted by a computer-aided design program to provide data that control industrial water-jet cutters that shape the component glass plates of Knottenbelt's finished works. The geometric precision of this work is typical of Knottenbelt's sculptural glass.