My final project aims to give my three plants a “voice”. I want to focus on how we as caretakers give (or don’t give) plants any attention. Using lights and proximity sensors my first iteration consisted of the light pattern changing when you moved closer to it, prompting the viewer to pay attention to said plant. What I want to continue doing is to have the plants talk back. Using a programmable LCD screen and a sound sensor I’d program a series of responses that the LCD screen would broadcast when sound is recognized.
I know that some questions and comments raised about my piece was about the effectiveness of the lights and what the plants would be communicating. I do think that it would be effective to somehow conceal the lights and make them more within plant itself instead of just being on the bottom of the greenhouse and that instead of the lights switching blinking modes they go from off to on, making the change more apparent. In terms of the programmable sayings, the plants would say kind of cutesy things like “Hello there!” “Glad you could chill with us!” and “Have you fed us yet?”
My questions for feedback:
1.) Should I make them say something else/What do you think they should be saying?
2.) Is it effective enough for the plant to merely be asking for attention or for actual care?
3) How affective is the lights and the greenhouse?
1-2. I like the idea of the cute and friendly cacti, but I also think it would be fun if they could get hostile or demanding. This wouldn't have to be in response to anything in particular, just that you might randomly get a nice interaction or a mean one. You could also have emoticons or punctuation scroll across ( !!!!! đ đ đ !!!!! ) ( @&^*&!%@ >:[ >:[ >: [ @#&^%&@) etc.
3. I really enjoyed the form of the greenhouse! I think the lights and plants would work together better if both were integrated more into an environment within the house. For instance, there could be dirt or gravel that gave the impression that the cacti are planted even if they're still in pots. I like the idea of creating a little diorama, like (just spitballing here) you could pull apart cotton balls and suspend them from the ceiling of the terrarium to make "clouds".
1. i agree with Meghan, and think that idea of giving them a demeaning personalities makes them more interesting.
2. it is effective for the plant to ask for attention because if one pays more attention to it on regular basis,one will not forget to water it whenever the plant needs it.
3. i loved the greenhouse because it made me feel like you've created this little world for your plants, where they can exist on their own and demand attention.