WEEK17 - Applications and Implications
WEEK SEVENTEEN ASSIGNMENT
| Assignments | Completed |
|---|---|
| INDIVIDUAL | |
| - Propose a final project masterpiece that integrates the range of units covered, answering the following questions | - done |
SYMBIOTIC AND PARASITIC DEVICES
"Symbiotic Devices" and "Parasitic Devices"
Chip-Tune Forest Whispers
I have always believed in magic, and for as long as I remember I've wanted to be magic, for objects to light up at my touch and to be able to hear what the forest whispers to me.
What will it do?
I wanted to create devices which would connect to living organisms via biosensors and sonify the resulting readings.
Further I wanted the readings of these biosensors and other inputs to be interactive with me as well as with each other, to lead on
Whilst this will be an ongoing research-project because I had to triage a lot of things I had envisioned for the Final Project, and had to settle to a more limited concept: thus Whispering Forests was born.
As shimmering rays of sunlight fight their way into a japanese bamboo forest and dance upon the leaves surfaces whilst creating stark shadows in their consequence. Whispering Forest is a device which will sonify the plants exposure to sunlight, as such letting the plants create their own music through out their photosynthesis
Who's done what beforehand?
Attempting to communicate with flowers or to control them is something that has indeed already been attempted multiple times.
There are multiple products that claim to use the micro-electrical currents to "listen" to plants.
The most prominent being 'PlantWave'
However I have a huge issue with this project, since upon deeper ( or not soo deep inspection) it actually becomes quickly obvious that this project doesn't actually interact with the nature at all, but simply maps various noise libraries onto random step resistances. This appeared fundamentally boring and flawed to me.
Many many years ago, I read this paper:
and it never really left my brain: the notion of how much the nature around is connected and aware of what we are doing to it, and how much we are not aware of it at all.
What will you design?
I will design:
2D: sketches and 'input'-pcb's
3D: layered -stack design + outside portable weather-case
What materials and components will be used? Where will come from? How much will they cost?
BOM
| Material | Amount | USD | YEN | LOCATION |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BOARD | ||||
| Seeduino Xiao | 1 | 6,05 | 850 | link |
| 0Ohm Resistors | 4 | Β₯1.6 | fabinventory link | |
| MOSFET P-CH 30V | 1 | 1,57 | 220 | link |
| ~~2ndHand Vintage Speaker~~ | 1 | (ended up not being implemented in FP) | ||
| Speaker οΌΞ©γοΌοΌοΌοΌ· | 1 | 1,28 | 180 | link |
| ~~TRRS Audio Jack~~ | ~~1~~ | (ended up not being implemented in FP) | ||
| DiyStudio I2C OLED | 1 | 3,56 | 500 | link came in a two-pack, this is a chinese dupe for the original SSD1306 model |
| ~~Neopixel~~ | ~~9~~ | (ended up not being implemented in FP) | ||
| INPUTS | ||||
| Phototransistor | 3 | Β₯35.2 | fabinventory: PT15-21C/TR8 | |
| 10 Ohm Resistor | 3 | Β₯1.6 | fabinventory | |
| SWITCHES&BUTTONS | ||||
| TACTILE BUTTON | 2 | fabinventory | ||
| SWITCH ON/OFF | 1 | link | ||
| PACKAGING | ||||
| PLA- fillament for 3D printing | fab-inventory | |||
| PLEXIGLASS A4 sheet | 1 | 10,68 | 1600 | link |
| 2M Spacer and screw set | 1 | 9,50 | 1335 | link |
| WIRING | ||||
| 10M roll of wire - green | 1 | fabinventory | ||
| various small cables used to internal communication | ~ | fabinventory |
What parts and systems will be made?
I will make the overall design for the main board, the input traces
What processes will be used?
Processes Used:
- Electronics Design/ Production: KiCAD/Mods etc (PCB milling) + Vinylcutter
- 2D Design + INPUT + Computer Controlled Cutting for 'Photoransistor' Leaves (PCP Vinyl-Cutter)
- Molding+ Casting + Wildcard week: Silicone Skin + button (didn't quite work in the end)
- 3D Design: weather-case
- Lasercutting: inside stack design + cable management
What questions need to be answered?
This project primarily concerns itself with questions of post humanism and non-human-centric interaction. When I started on this project it was very much about interspecies communication, in part about how the plant live communicates with itself and if there are methods to be learned here.
I do not wish for this project to become commercial, but I enjoy it remaining within the realms of philosophy. Symbiotic Devices as a Research Project is as much about researching non-human interactions as much as it as about questioning whether one should interfere at all.
The devices fundamentally embody a relationship to the natural environment in which they are placed.
How will it be evaluated?
As this is an artistic and philosophical project the evaluation is rather subjective I suppose.. or maybe not subjective but somewhat blurry. But since it is a project aimed for nature interaction, it should be assessed based on engagement. Does it bring people to the forest? Does it aid in understanding and thinking about human-nature collaborations?
and I suppose most basically... does it make sound? is this sound changed by nature itself, does it require human intervention? Hopefully not.
C u guys down the road! :D