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== Project : The Air Between Us == | == Project : The Air Between Us == | ||
[[File:TheAirBetweenUs Winterwerkschau2025 1.jpg|frameless|1000x1000px]] | |||
''This project integrates technology and nature, attempting to explore the invisible communication of plants. The use of sensors and IoT to uncover the hidden exchanges of gases and environmental data between isolated plant systems. By connecting their ecosystems through shared mechanisms, it transforms plant interactions into visible and tangible sensory experiences.'' | ''This project integrates technology and nature, attempting to explore the invisible communication of plants. The use of sensors and IoT to uncover the hidden exchanges of gases and environmental data between isolated plant systems. By connecting their ecosystems through shared mechanisms, it transforms plant interactions into visible and tangible sensory experiences.'' | ||
== Initial Idea == | == Initial Idea == | ||
[[File:The_Plant_Plant_Initial_Idea.png|frameless|700x700px]] | [[File:The_Plant_Plant_Initial_Idea.png|frameless|700x700px]] | ||
- | During the two-day workshop at the Bio Lab at the beginning of the semester, I learned how to create isolated plant environments using different cultivation, especially MS Media. This was my first time incorporating plants as part of an artistic creation. The conceptual foundation of the idea based on cybernetics, particularly its principles of feedback, adaptation, and self-regulation. Therefore, I was interested in experimenting with how autonomous systems—plants in this case—respond, adapt, and communicate within interconnected ecosystems, and implemented it to my project. | ||
== Project Concept == | == Project Concept == | ||
- | '''The Integration of Plants and Electronic Sensors — Exploring Interactions Between Plant Systems and the Concept of Cybernetics.''' | ||
The Air Between Us is a new media exploration through a cybernetic approach, integrating electronic sensors with biological systems. By creating two isolated plant systems and analyzing their environmental data, the work attempts to simulate and observe potential interaction and "communication" between the living organisms through the shared mechanism. | |||
A Helleborus in a sealed autoclave bag containing MS Media and several Sundew plants in a glass jar with the same cultivation medium served as the two independent systems. Due to the constraints of placing sensors directly inside the sealed environments, I decided to create a shared mechanism that using custom-made transparent plastic boxes. Inside each box, an MQ-2 gas sensor and a DHT22 temperature and humidity sensor were installed to measure emitted gases and environmental conditions, which were channeled through plastic tubes extended from the sealed plants environment. A third sensor box acts as a bridge between the two plant systems, capturing any atmospheric interactions that may arise when they are connected. | |||
ESP32 microcontroller collected sensor data, sending real-time readings via Wi-Fi to the IoT platform Thingspeak, where the information was visualized through dynamic graphs on a vertical screen. Additionally, the data from the third group of MQ-2 sensor was processed through a programmed transformation: its analog read values were converted into ASCII characters, forming a continuous, scrolling string displayed on an LCD screen. This text-based representation used as an artistic metaphor for the hidden dialogue between plants, transforming their biochemical emissions into an abstract yet perceivable language. | |||
By referring to cybernetic principles, this work experimented the feedback loops within living systems and their adaptive behaviors. The installation invited the audience to reconsider plants as active agents in communication, rather than passive organisms, offering a poetic interpretation of interspecies interaction beyond human perception. | |||
=== Brainstorming === | === Brainstorming === | ||
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=== MS Media === | === MS Media === | ||
I chose to use MS Media because its transparent texture allows the plant’s roots to be clearly visible. This might allow us to observe more potential changes throughout the flowering phase or even the entire life cycle of the plant.[[File:The_Plant_Plant_Preparation_MS_Medium.png|right|frameless|564x564px]] | |||
'''Recipe:''' | '''Recipe:''' | ||
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[[File:ThePlantPlant Sterilizing&Transplanting.png|frameless|800x800px]] | [[File:ThePlantPlant Sterilizing&Transplanting.png|frameless|800x800px]] | ||
To maintain a clean system and prevent bacteria, the soil surrounding the roots must be removed, and the roots should be briefly sterilized with chlorine. Cut off extra leaves in order to allow the nutrients provided by the MS Media to be concentrated on the flowers or buds.<blockquote>Note: | |||
When selecting flowers to transplant in autoclave bags, choose plants with strong roots and straight stems. This makes it easier to move them into MS Media and less likely to collapse. Furthermore, it would be better to select flowers that are not fully bloomed, but still have some buds. This might extend the lifecycle of the system and allows for the observation of the blooming process. Plants also tend to release more gases during flowering. | |||
The first plant, Helleborus, I purchased turned out to be the best choice unexpectedly. However, when I later attempted to use Primula, its thin and soft roots were unable to support within the MS Media, causing it to sink and ending the experiment. | |||
</blockquote> | |||
=== Plants Observation === | === Plants Observation === | ||
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</gallery> | </gallery> | ||
== | == Exhibition == | ||
=== Technical Riders === | === Technical Riders === | ||
{| class="wikitable" | {| class="wikitable" | ||
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|~ 3 - 4 sockets | |~ 3 - 4 sockets | ||
|- | |- | ||
| colspan="2" rowspan="12" |Notice: | | colspan="2" rowspan="12" |Notice: | ||
'''The power and WiFi must remain on''' | |||
for the sensor data to be continuously | |||
uploaded and synchronized 24/7 via WiFi | |||
to the ThingSpeak (IoT platform). | |||
|MQ-2 Sensors | |MQ-2 Sensors | ||
|*3 | |*3 | ||
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|Helleborus, Sundew | |Helleborus, Sundew | ||
|} | |} | ||
=== Winterwerkschau === | |||
<gallery mode="nolines" widths="250" heights="200"> | |||
File:Winterwerkschau01.jpg | |||
File:Winterwerkschau06.jpg | |||
File:Winterwerkschau07.jpg | |||
File:Winterwerkschau04.jpg | |||
File:Winterwerkschau02.jpg | |||
File:Winterwerkschau03.jpg | |||
File:Winterwerkschau05.jpg | |||
File:Winterwerkschau08.jpg | |||
File:Winterwerkschau Dialogue01.jpg | |||
File:Winterwerkschau Dialogue02.jpg | |||
File:The Plant Plant The Air Between Us DialogueScrolling.mp4 | |||
</gallery>I appreciate that this project was successfully exhibited at Winterwerkschau and received so much positive feedback. This was my first time incorporating plants into my artistic practice. At the beginning, I was unsure whether I could effectively apply the abstract concept and unfamiliar technics to the work. In the past, I faced many challenges and frustrations in the electronics and programming part, and the unpredictability of the unknown often made me doubt whether I could complete the project. However, throughout the process, I received a lot of support and assistance, encountered many surprises, and was able to integrate all the elements I wanted to experiment with. This resulted in a fully functioning prototype, a truly rewarding experience. | |||
There are, of course, still many aspects that could be improved. Although I took advice to present the interconnected wiring, including electrical wires and plastic tubes, as a readable diagram, I was still frequently asked about it during the exhibition. That is to say, my design was not intuitive enough, and the structure was not immediately understandable to the audience, requiring further explanation. As for plants, the Helleborus was already approaching the end of its life cycle. Ideally, it would have been best to show it when it was fully blooming. Lastly, the MQ-2 gas sensor data conversion into ASCII codes was successfully executed in the program, aiming to represent the concept of a dialogue between two plants. However, I personally feel that the interpretation was not fully realized, and I would like to explore other expressive approaches. | |||
As the first version of prototype, it is a fulfilled and successful experiment with many possibilities for further development. I’m looking forward to continuing this project in the future. | |||
== References == | == References == | ||