This will be a review on a physical designing work made by an interaction designer who currently graduated from a media school in China.
Designer profile:
Name: Gao Lei aka Whaleforest
University: SiChuan Conservatory of Music,
Website: http://whaleforest.blogspot.com/
Featured works: use of air and light sensors to control graphic motion and sound
Physical Design: “Sound and Graphics from Plant”
- Design demonstration (how this works)
Uses LDR light sensor hidden beneath the plant to transmit code from arduino board into the computer. It produces different sounds and graphics on the screen according to the brightness of light. The sensors will detect these values and transmit it to arduino, which will then relate these values to the written code in the program, in this case, Flash.
- Purpose
Hopes to create a connection between living plants and its moving environment, including the people within its surroundings by creating awareness on how plants respond to varying factors of interaction and events through display of graphics and sounds on the screen.
- Future Improvisations/Possibilities
Looks into artificial intelligence and human-based interactions, for instance, when one tries to stroke or spray some water into it, it will have a certain response, such as, blooming, change colour, etc.
How:
Plant video 2:
The higher the level of humidity/moisture it senses, the bigger the ball becomes.
Another variation of the work:
Monroe skirt glides up as person blows into the sensor
Relevance and Inspiration
This project is relevant in a way that it has so much to do with understanding how people interact with the plant. The way they test out its interactivity is interesting. What if they blow harder, what if they try to kick the plant or water it, etc. These interactions will eventually fall into place in their everyday lives, as if people have a sense of mutual relation toward the plant. The fact that it gives response whenever it is being interacted adds to that sense of relation.
From the examples above, the designer created interesting outcomes from connecting these technologies (sensor+arduino+flash) together. It seems to be a straightforward yet effective work. By exploring different outcomes in every interaction, the possibilities that this type of physical design can create has no bounds, as well as the feedback it can ilicit from users.
This work is capable of providing varying solutions commercially. It can be a ‘moving wallpaper’. Imagine, having this plant placed in a coffee shop. This will highly change the user experience by providing non-boring, interactive living plants that produces colourful and interesting pictures.
This can also be applied in clothing boutiques, clubs, hotel lobbies and halls. If the sensor being replaced with highly sensitive temperature reader, which then transmits all information through the program to create different or moving graphics and sounds across the wall according to the surrounding temperature.
Related topic:
Moisture sensor circuit: http://itp.nyu.edu/~raf275/blog/archives/2006/11/moisture_sensor.htm
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