shiqizhang

[shiqizhang]

Exhibition plan

I would like to present my exhibition plan.

Before the exhibition: before the 8th of May, my plan was to buy black cloth to set up the space, print the display material and name labels.Specifically, I will prepare two display boards, one to introduce my theme and what the tactile installation will be used for, and one to introduce how the auditory installation will be used. I will also go to the venue to test the stability of the installation and adjust the distance and height of the plants and projections.

During the exhibition: the first exhibition will start on the 11th of May, I will be there to help the visitors in case they have questions, I will provide some answers and explanations, I will also record the exhibition and listen to the visitors' comments, it will be interesting to interact with the visitors.

After the exhibition: I will pack everything up and I will edit all the material from the exhibition (images, photographs) as a derivative of my project and as feedback.

[shiqizhang]

Future plan

At the postgraduate level, my major is animation and I would like to continue to present the theme of symbiosis between humans and plants through this format. I want to tell stories to show the plants of the future world. At the same time, I am willing to experiment with more emerging technologies such as VR games and cinematography.

[shiqizhang]

Set-up plan

My exhibition space is a 3 meters long, 3 meters wide and 3 meters high black room. I have been there to test the effects of the projection and the interactive device. First of all, the color rendering of the projection is very good.

Then I started thinking about the layout of the live exhibition.

The bottom left is where people usually come in, and on the left I'll put an exhibition board that introduces the theme of the work and the use of touching devices. Then they turn right and can enter a new area where there will be an exhibition board explaining how the hearing device is experienced and at the same time they can see the hearing installation and plant.

[shiqizhang]

Reflections

These are some reflections on my work.

1. Prototype

The touching installation is a complete part. Touching plants happens in People's Daily life. Therefore, this part can bring direct impact to the audience and make them think about the impact of their own behavior on plants.

However, the hearing sense of the plant appears as a prototype that will need to be improved in the future. Due to the limitation of technology and time, I did not find a suitable sensor that can directly capture the hearing of plants. It is not a detectable physical value like the humidity and temperature of plants.

In the process of this prototype design, I started from the academic research on color and plant response to sound, so it is credible, but I lack a proper sensor to detect the state of plants. In the future, I can do a long-term comparative experiment in the future. For example, some plants grow better because of suitable frequency, and some plants don’t grow well, and then I take some time-lapse photoes to record the slow changes. This is another way to show the state of the plant, but it takes a long time.

2. Colour

The use of colour as a metaphor to trigger the audience's emotions is a double-edged sword.

Metaphors help to increase the sensitivity of a message when the metaphorical content agrees with the audience's preferences (Ottati et al., 1999).

But the influence of factors such as the audience's personal experience and cultural background cannot be ignored (Ekkeri, 2023).

I also place artwork boards in the exhibition to help the viewer understand my work.

3. Solution

Although this work does not offer a perfect solution to the symbiosis between humans and plants. The exhibition itself only raises understanding and awareness of the symbiosis between humans and plants, but it paves the way for the symbiosis between humans and plants to emerge as a potential influence in the daily interaction between humans and plants, creating a long-term and diffuse force.

Reference list:

Ottati, V., Rhoads, S. and Graesser, A.C. (1999) “The effect of metaphor on processing style in a persuasion task: A motivational resonance model.,”

Ekkeri, N. (2023) The Truth About Color Psychology in design: Is it worth the hype?, Medium.

[shiqizhang]

Practice video

This is the interactive effect of the last updated version.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1n6__rCd4zhLeORdrnW0lk-llBG97mPms/view?usp=sharing

[shiqizhang]

Reflection

However the testing of the code was long and difficult and full of uncertainty. I spent a lot of time optimising the code and testing it for bugs to ensure final stability.As a beginner in Arduino and processing, I had never touched code before this, so it was a very big challenge for me and I spent sixty percent of the time making this piece working with code. However the time spent exploring is not in vain, the previous failures turn into experience to facilitate my later work and I never feel that any attempt I spend on this project is a waste of time, even if it doesn't appear in the final product, but I can't rub out those hours of effort.For example, at the beginning I chose to use a pressure sensor and I spent a lot of time testing to come up with a value that would control the change in the video, a value that the arduino would produce if a normal person pressed the sensor with a normal amount of force, so I had to experiment a lot to determine this value.But this sensor was also replaced by a new tactile interaction method. I would regret the time I had put in, but I believe that the success of a project should not be based on the final result alone, but rather on the trial and error of building a solid foundation, one brick at a time.Even if these efforts cannot be directly felt in the final product, the experience has given me a deep insight into the whole process of making interactive installations, which will be indelible for my future studies and work.

Here are some photos from the test:

[shiqizhang]

Code testing

In this section I will give some specifics about my testing of code and circuits and how I broke through these issues.The first is the haptic device, which presents three main problems; video jams, video loops, and video that tends to jump uncontrollably.Firstly, the video was stuttering, it could switch between videos, but after the video looped a few times it would stutter in one position, so I checked all the code and found that it was not a code problem, then I fixed the video stuttering by unifying the duration of the two videos.So several attempts were necessary and the solution required a lot of patience. Then there was the looping of the video. I needed to achieve a looping effect for the video.The video loop is therefore controlled by the "boolean is_movie_finished" and "jump".

The last thing is that the video tends to jump uncontrollably and switch when no one is touching the plants, which I found out after many experiments is the instability of the unit.I therefore ensure that the wiring to the plants is stable and I also add insulating rubber to the base of the plants to omit excess interference.

Next is the hearing device, and I would like to talk about my updates and experiences in this section.Firstly, since I had spent a lot of time setting up the communication between the Arduino and the processing, the effect of real-time colour changes in the projection was very stable.

So my update in this section is to clarify the range of the spotter in relation to Hertz and the projection，The audience can generate a range of sounds via the arduino's potentiometer, I set the range to 115hz-385hz, which means that the graph changes when it is twisted halfway. When the data is transferred to processing, the data is set again in the range. Finally, When the value of processing is between 0 and 128, it means that Hertz is between 115-250, so figure 1 is displayed. When the value of processing ranges from 128-225, it means that Hertz ranges from 250-385, so figure 2 is displayed. At the same time, the pattern changes in real time regardless of the range of sound, and the higher the Hertz, the darker the color, it can achieve a gradient effect to the next darker color.

[shiqizhang]

Update of code

I find that the current auditory code is too complex my auditory code is too complex, it ends up with a sound that is controlled and synthesised by five pointers, however my project doesn't need that many variables, I just need to focus on the change in frequency.In the subsequent tutorial, Garrett also analysed my work from the audience's point of view, while simulating the audience's feelings. I therefore started the optimisation and updating of the code and sensors, all of which contributed to the final presentation and which built on the previous work.

First of all, regarding the installation of the touch of the plant, I should have paid more attention to the feeling of the audienc. If I continue to use the Arduino's touching sensors,the observer does not touch the plant directly. Instead, they touch the sensors that I have attached to the plant. This can be detrimental to the viewer's experience of interacting with the plant, as the viewer's touching of the plant is limited to the location of the sensor, rather than any part of the whole plant.

So I received advice from Garrett about code optimisation. This new arduino device is based on a capacitive touch sensor (Touch sensitive color changing plants using Arduino and RGB leds, 2020). When we connect a wire to a plant, it works like an electrode and then when a person touches the plant, the capacitance changes. So this new circuit and code improves the viewer's experience, and I started using this instead of the original touching interaction.

The auditory device was the part of the project that I felt needed to be improved when I looked back at it, and in the interim report I show my own experiments with the device and code that I tried during the summer holidays, so it is not the final, mature version. The circuit and code are not a perfect match for my project, I just based it on a circuit diagram provided by my teacher as a base, then combined it with a code tutorial on the internet for generating music with a potentiometer, and finally made a preliminary hearing device. Overall, I have only made a first attempt and implemented communication between the arduino and the processing, allowing the values to control the projection in real time, but I still want to refine the arduino part.

I find that the current auditory code is too complex my auditory code is too complex, it ends up with a sound that is controlled and synthesised by five pointers, however my project doesn't need that many variables, I just need to focus on the change in frequency.

Then I discovered in the Arduino example that it is possible to use a potentiometer to generate a Tone, but the Tone is made up of Notes, which are given by arduino.

So this code did not satisfy my concept of the piece, but it inspired me to come up with a new code that could control the frequency of the sound with the range of movement of the potentiometer. Finally, after a long period of research and searching, I found a suitable code from https://linuxhint.com/change-buzzer-frequency-potentiometer-arduino/ (Javaid, 1969). This was perfect for my project concept to control the frequency of the sound by changing the position of the potentiometer.

Reference list:

Touch sensitive color changing plants using Arduino and RGB leds (2020) Circuit Digest - Electronics Engineering News, Latest Products, Articles and Projects. Available at: https://circuitdigest.com/microcontroller-projects/arduino-touch-sensitive-color-changing-plants-using-rgb-leds (Accessed: March 15, 2023).

Javaid, A. (1969) How to change the buzzer frequency with potentiometer – arduino uno. Available at: https://linuxhint.com/change-buzzer-frequency-potentiometer-arduino/ (Accessed: March 20, 2023).

[shiqizhang]

Feedback and reflection

My work does not simply equate human emotions with plant perceptions. Rather than focusing on showing the emotions of plants, it is more appropriate to say that this work aims to make humans feel similar to plants through visual projection. Plants can only be understood by people in a way that they can understand them. My work is to make the reaction of the plant as similar as possible to a person's reaction to colour and shape, and I want the viewer to feel how the plant has changed through the colours and shapes etc that I have made. Specifically, when conditions favorable to plant growth appear, projections favorable to people's positive emotions will appear; when conditions unfavorable to plant growth appear, projections promoting people's negative emotions will appear, so as to make the audience empathize.Firstly, I would like to start with the feedback from the teachers at the interim report. My interim report was evaluated by two teachers, Garrett Lynch and Giovanni Santini. After the presentation, I received some advice and questions from teachers about my project, which I answered. And these have driven the development and change of my project, which has been an indispensable force in my late carefully. The teachers provided new perspectives for me to continue to dig deeper into the depth and breadth of my project. I concluded with some very representative questions and my reflections.

1. Is there a larger concept/point that you want to create here?

This question made me want to dig deeper into the description of my topic, so I mentioned speculative design, This is the part I thought of before but didn't clearly articulate in my presentation, so this question reminded me to sort out a smooth line of thinking about how I developed a larger point. Speculative design is future-oriented, so I have conceived a new world where almost all plants become houseplants, people must learn to live in peace with plants and I wanted to use this project to make people feel as much as possible the effects of their actions on plants. I want to use this project to make people feel as much as possible the impact of their actions on plants and how they feel. Therefore, I have developed a whole process of idea development.

2. Is a plants reaction to various frequencies of sound the same as a human’s reaction to colour? Are these an equal type of reaction?

My work does not simply equate human emotions with plant perceptions. Rather than focusing on showing the emotions of plants, it is more appropriate to say that this work aims to make humans feel similar to plants through visual projection. Plants can only be understood by people in a way that they can understand them. My work is to make the reaction of the plant as similar as possible to a person's reaction to colour and shape, and I want the viewer to feel how the plant has changed through the colours and shapes etc that I have made. Specifically, when conditions favorable to plant growth appear, projections favorable to people's positive emotions will appear; when conditions unfavorable to plant growth appear, projections promoting people's negative emotions will appear, so as to make the audience empathize.

3. All experiments seem to use fixed visual media, video, images etc. why are you not generating visuals are you are generating sounds?

For the hearing sense of plant, the design of my base colour is based on academic research, which is the reliability of my work. At the same time, the viewer can control the colour and switch projection in real-time by adjusting the sound, which is the interactivity and freedom of this project.

[shiqizhang]

After the interim report, I experimented and updated a lot more on the basis of the original content, but I am only now posting it all in the digital sketchbook. This is because I wanted to organise the logic and organise the language and divide all the information by blocks. I want to post as much of the same type of information as possible in one posting, for example, specific experiments, updates to the work, reflections, etc. So next I will show my process.

[shiqizhang]

Experiment video

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1GitTEBQRJCvbzrOlkcJN0Elm4n2DqMyj/view?usp=sharing

[shiqizhang]

Summary of the work updates during the winter vacation

In this post, I will present a summary of my project updates during the winter vacation.I have updated the experiments and research I did during the summer holidays in this presentation. And now I'm uploading it to this sketchbook.

1. Inspiration and concept

I observed that many companies were growing indoor plants and noticed plants' positive effects on people. I researched the increase in the number of artificially grown plants and used speculative design to consider human's future with plants.

I theorised that in a future world, people have a very close relationship with plants, and almost all plants have to be raised indoors by people. People start to share their indoor living space with the plants, they need to learn to live in symbiosis. The work aims to make people feel as much as possible the impact of their actions on plants and how they feel.  And it encourages people to give up their superiority over all other non-human creatures and to live in harmony with them.

2. Future research

2.1 Background

From 2010 to 2020, China's potted plant cultivation area as a whole is expanding trend. The range of planted forests increases, and the relationship between people and plants becomes closer.

The area of planted forest has increased by 123 million hectares since 1990.

2.2 Research

2.2.1 The concept of companion species

The relationship between humans and plants is interdependence and co-formation. On the one hand, the plant can bring psychological comfort and a positive attitude to people. On the other hand, people nurture them simultaneously.

2.2.2 Hearing of plants

Plants thrive when they listen to music that sits between 115Hz and 250Hz, as the vibrations emitted by such music emulate similar sounds in nature.

2.2.3 The sense of smell of plants

Plants can communicate injuries and emotions to their mates by emitting smells.

2.2.4 Tactile sensation of plants

Plants can sense human touch and do not like it, which inhibits their growth.

3 Hearing

3.1 Visual design

The projection is inspired by the circular flower disc of sunflower. The shape reminds me of the kaleidoscope. The circle has a harmonious and unified aesthetic feeling in the traditional image, reflecting a kind of expectation for happiness (Cai, 2009). This also sustains the desire of the plant to grow better.

3.2 Color design

Green is a positive color, symbolizing happiness, harmony and vitality (Cerrato, 2012). The psychological signification of green is a growth and health (Morton, 1997; Ammer, 2001).

Dark purple brings fear to people (Ammer, 2001).

3.3 Interactive logic

When the audience synthesizes sounds from 115hz to 250hz through Lo-fi Synth for Arduino, plants will thrive as the vibrations emitted by such music emulate similar sounds in nature.

A green animation is triggered. When people see the green projection, they will receive positive emotions and feel the healthy growth of plants.

When the viewer synthesizes a sound over 250hz, this range of sounds is not conducive to plant growth and plants do not like it.

A purple animation is triggered. When people see the purple projection, they feel discomfort and fear, they can feel the plant's resistance to the sound.

3.4 Code experiment

After I settled on the interaction logic and visual design, I started to try some code-based experiments, and then I came up with some kaleidoscopes.

3.5 Flow chart

I have carefully placed the effect and corresponding code for each step in the flowchart. The audience uses Lo-fi Synth for Arduino to create the frequency of the sound, then map the frequency of the sound into the processing and controls the kaleidoscope in real time through both speed and colour. When the frequency is between 115hz and 250hz, a kaleidoscope of green graphics appears. When the frequency is greater than 250hz, the kaleidoscope of purple graphics appears. Finally, the visual effect will change in real time as the frequency changes, with the colours getting darker and the speed of rotation increasing as the frequency goes up.

4 Smell and touch

4.1 Visual design

The tendency of the animation to spread outward, which means the plant is signaling.

4.2 Color design

The negative emotions for the color blue were sadness (Morton, 1997). The color blue (signifier) it is independent and classified as anti-life, which is a static character (Ammer, 2001).

4.3 Interactive logic

Plants can communicate injuries and emotions to their mates by emitting smells.

When no one presses the plant. An animation with a tendency to diffuse represent that the plant has been communicating with its peers.

When the viewer squeezes the pressure sensor attached to the plant.

Plants can sense human touch and do not like it, which inhibits their growth. A blue animation is triggered.

4.4 Flow chart

Through my many experiments and tests, I have determined that a value of 210 is reasonable. When people press the pressure sensor, val usually goes above 210, so the video is switched.

Reference list:

Ammer, S. M. E. I. (2021). Content analysis of lighting and color in the embodiment of fear concept in horror movies: a Semiotic approach. Information Sciences Letters, 9(2), 135-142.

Cai, F.Y. (2009). Shilun Kejia tulou de hongguan meixue jiazhi [On the macroscopic aesthetic value of Hakka Earth Building], yishu jiaoyu, 5, 125-125

Cerrato, H. (2012). The meaning of colors. The graphic designer.

Morton, J. (1997). A guide to color symbolism (Vol. 28). Colorcom.

The music you play at home can affect how your plants grow (2020). Retrieved January 5,

2022, from: https://www.bhg.com.au/indoor-plants-listen-to-music

[shiqizhang]

4.4 The sense of touching and smell

Input: Human pinch plants

Output: Plants can feel a human touching and send out an alarm to its peers through releasing some smell. I wanted to visualize this process in the form of projections representing danger signals spreading from plant to plant.

[shiqizhang]

4.3 The sense of hearing

Input: Humans play music that contains the sound of birds, water and wind.

Output:  Music with wind, water and birdsong is conducive to plant growth and happy mood. I want to recognize these sounds with the Teachable machine, and let it output p5.js programming to connect arduino to drive the fan to rotate, and then the fan blows the plants.

Teachable machine recognize music: https://teachablemachine.withgoogle.com/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TOrVsLklltM

Teachable machine export p5.js programming to connect to arduino:

https://create.arduino.cc/projecthub/alankrantas/use-teachable-machine-ai-to-control-anything-2ad1ee

Arduino fan hardware：https://www.tutorialspoint.com/arduino/arduino_dc_motor.htm

[shiqizhang]

4.2 The sense of taste

Input: Human water plants.

Output: Use a soil moisture sensor to detect the moisture of the soil, and when someone waters it, the projection displays text (It is time to drink, which makes me feel satisfied).

Links of reference:

https://create.arduino.cc/projecthub/biharilifehacker/soil-moisture-sensor-with-arduino-uno-2f118b

[shiqizhang]

4. Interactive design:

4.1 The sense of smell

Input: The human smokes.

Output: The branches become soft and the leaves wither，text and word appears in the projection (I hate the smell of smoke, It’s a terrible smell).

Links of reference:

https://lightform.com/blog/behind-the-scenes-conservatory-of-flowers-event-projection-mapping

https://www.shareable.net/a-tree-that-tweets/

[shiqizhang]

Research

3.4 The five senses of plants

3.4.1 Hearing

The music that promotes the growth and development of plants is usually preceded by the sound of birds and the water of a small river, the theme song is the soft music of the piano, the end is the sound of wind, rain and nature, plants don't like fast and loud sounds (Zhang, 1997).

3.4.2 Smell

Plants send out odors to report injuries, defend themselves and express emotions (Zhang, 1997).  

3.4.3 Vision

The photoreceptors of a plant are like its eyes, it makes the plant feel the intensity and direction of light and grow toward the sun (Sun, 2009).

3.4.4 Taste

Plants can sense the minerals in the soil and determine how much of an element to absorb.

3.4.5 Touch

The plant can feel the touch of the human to the plant, when it feels pain, some genes in the body will inhibit its growth "desire", a long time by the external pressure, the plant will become small and short.