TIME:
6 weeks
TEAM:
Solo
TOOLS:
Arduino C++
Soldering Iron & Brass Rods
Illustrator
Photoshop
Rhino 3D
PROBLEM:
Working with the parameters of data collection and the broad needs of the IRC (International Rescue Committee) and relocation, this open ended project had to tackle social and behavioral design. This project was to be set slightly in the future, with a slightly speculative undertone.
PROCESS:
In the initial research phase I was heavily drawn to the idea of home. What makes home feel like that? Why does a scent feel like home, or maybe a skyline or the ritual of making yourself a coffee in the morning? I set out to question and research these emotive and ephemeral human and lived in elements of home. This led me to my research question:
How can we enhance the lingering feelings of home when things in vicinity have shifted?
After plenty of theory dense reading and research, I identified a few different scales of the feeling. I sought to find the similarities between all of them.
INSPIRATION:
We were all given arduino microcontrollers and told to explore the possibilities of them. Having never used one before, I took to forums and the r/Arduino subreddit to find inspiration on projects and the possibilities of such a powerful yet bite sized piece of equipment.
I became really excited at what was possible and took a lot of inspiration from a hardware engineer named Mohit Bohoite. He makes lovely arduino freeform sculptures, where all the circuitry and wiring are meant to be made visible. Considering that most of the projects I viewed tried very hard to hide the arduino and the wiring under layers of 3D printed filament and hot glue, I found it refreshing that someone viewed these microcontrollers as beautiful and to be displayed! I ended up creating an Are.na board of a few artfully done freeform sculptures.
I also took inspiration from a project I found on r/arduino, a project where plant would scream at a person who walked by if the plant needed to be watered. I simply loved the idea of giving a plant a voice.
BUILDING:
EMPATHY:
Giving plants care and affection have always been something I enjoy. Growing up, my mother would tell me about how the old ladies in Brazil talk to their plants in order to keep them healthy, how talking to them makes keeps them in good spirits. I'm also a fan of electronic music and the album Mother Earth's Plantasia by Mort Garson holds a special place in my heart. I purchased the book that was released alongside the original vinyl, a book that talk about how plants grow better with music and attention. (Don't we all?)
SOLUTION:
The culmination of all these peripheral interests and memories made me consider building a device that gave plants a voice. A device that takes in and processes the things that the plant might be sensing so that in turn the plant can care for you in return.
INPUTS:
I ended up building an Arduino freeform sculpture that measures soil moisture, ambient sound, temperature and humidity.
OUTPUTS:
The freeform sculpture processes that data and outputs an LED light, a prerecorded saying or randomly plays a song.
PRESENTATION:
RESULTS:
The technical aspects of project was a bit of a challenge for me, I spent a long time scouring forums for help with my Arduino code, as well as reading about how circuits work and how conductive materials can carry said circuits. This challenge was extremely frustrating at times, but overcoming them felt like the adrenaline rush of the descent on a rollercoaster. It was extremely rewarding in the end!
If I were to continue this project, I would adjust the sensor inputs to be more poetic. In this project I used the most literal sensors, I wish I could have used more ephemeral or non visible senses, like vibrations or ultrasounds.
SPRING 2022
PRODUCT STUDIO 2
PROFESSOR MOZARI
