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Outcome


Introduction

Plantr is an empathetic plant that mirrors your inner state and communicates them to your loved ones who are far way from you. The idea is to have you brush a leaf which has a continuous touch spectrum embedded within it which simulates the intensity of your feelings. The spectrum of light ranges from dim dark to bright green - dim light indicates that you are feeling down, whereas  bright green light indicates that you are feeling happy.

Plantr is an ambient object that subtly blends in with your environment. It does not consume the user's attention when not needed, yet appears when physically engaged. The goal is to use light as a visual language to communicate deeper feelings which are sometimes hard to put into words when your loved one is  away. 

Plantr challenges precedent projects such as "Expression Flower" (https://www.hackster.io/thingsexperiments/expression-flower-82210b), Disney's "Botanic Interact Us". Plantr differs from these projects in that it's a more intuitive way of interacting with plants - a touch or a caress, instead of blow or a pinch. 

Initial Idea

The initial idea was to have the user brush the leaves to change the leaves' colors from green to black symbolizing happy to sad. There would also be reinforcing affordances like indicator lights which dim and brighten to green at the base of the planter to further emphasize the user's emotions. The user could also press down the head of the leaf to make them wilt, utilizing a series of servos (see image below). When one user interacts with the first plant, the other person's plant mirrors its actions. 

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First Iteration

We immediately simplified the idea due to the overall complexity of actions. In terms of motion, the plant's wilting action was removed and the user interaction was adjusted from direct touch on the leaves to a touch capacitor at the base of the planter. 

The main form factor also shifted significantly from a minimalist cylindrical vase to a delicate origami flower pot which would dim and brighten to green much like a simple light bulbThe user would simply slide their finger along the base of Plantr from left to right, to achieve dark to bright green. When the user's finger releases the capacitor, it plays a soft chime (first prototyped with a in a piezo). Again, when the first user interacts with the plant, the action is mirrored in the second.

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IoT Circuit and the Outcome

For our first working prototype, we want to create a set of two connected neopixel and piezo devices. If one presses the button, the corresponding LED will light up and buzzer will buzz on both devices. 

  • Particle ARGON
  • Five pad capacitive touch sensor
  • LEDs
  • Resistor(1k ohm)
  • Jumper Cables
  • USB wire
  • Breadboard
  • Power Source (5V, PC)

Below is the code for the model. 

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Second Iteration

We received a lot of feedback from our class demo, which lead us to reconsider the following design questions:

1) Have we considered time difference of long distance couples? How do we factor that into our design?

2) How might we design Plantr in a way that is intuitive for users to interact with? IoT devices should be intuitive to use with minimal user instructions. It required us to design affordances that are natural and straightforward to everyone. 

 3) Have we considered the context in which users interact with Plantr? Is it placed near the door for users to quickly interact with when they are going out, or is it on a desk or near a window which would afford a more intimate interaction requiring a user's full attention? 

With these questions in mind, we redesigned Plantr:

Users touch and caress the leaves of plant to indicate emotions. The touched leaf light up to indicate a happier mood. Multiple leaves brightening on the plant acts as a spectrum which indicates the intensity of emotion. We planned to have capacitive touch sensor and LED lights attached to each leaf of the plant, but we quickly ran into a challenge. We could only set the capacitive touch sensor into one state (either on or off to indicate high or low emotions) and users cannot turn it the other way around. This didn't meet our expected function of having users controlling the brightness to indicate emotions. 


Final Concept and Process

The final concept is a pair of plants that are placed on the desk or near a window of you and your loved one. Plantr is designed for intimate interactions. We decided to have two leaves on each stem to indicate the intensity of emotion. The LED (green) becomes brighter when the user naturally caresses the plant from the base of the leaf to the tip. If the user reverses the caress on the leaf, the light dims. If the user wishes to express a greater amount of emotion, they can touch another leaf.  

Below are top of mind executional considerations: 

HUMAN INTERACTIONS:

Time difference: We considered the time difference of long distance couples and decided to leave the light on in a certain time frame. The light returned to neutral position gradually in 24 hours. 

Flexibility on the users' end to interact with Plantr: We considered different scenarios when the users on the receiving end see the color changes. What if they want to input colors as well? Does that create confusion? Should we design for a 5 minute delay before the other end can interact with the plant? The final decision was to 'minimize' design and let users decide what they want to do with their preferred method of communication: call the other person immediately, engage with asynchronous sms in a few minutes, whatsapp a "hug" emoji hours later, etc. 

PROTOTYPING CONSIDERATIONS:

Time, cost, and ability to reiterate: The decision to utilize a bright white mineral vellum paper could be boiled down down to easy accessibility, ability to explore and iterate very quickly with the final materials, and refine based on our classmates' user feedback. We explored the height of the stem; number, size and texture of the paper leaves (e.g. veined vs flat); different paper stocks with tones of white; as well as color variations (gold, white, black, and a variety of gradients). 

TECHNICAL CONSIDERATIONS: 

We had to work under the constraints of available components and feasible technology. Our initial prototype was with a Force Resistive Sensor, while we wanted a much more seamless interaction. We tried working with Velostat, to have a natural appeal of a cloth, but were unable to get stable readings and then finally settled upon a 5-Pad Capacitive touch sensor, with their conductive wires attached under the leaves. There were two conductive wires, each on the other half of the leaf to detect a sad or a happy emotion. This capacitive touch sensor was interfaced with Particle, to brighten the plant we used 7- Jewel RGBW neopixel, one attached under every leaf to give it a bright green Colour. 

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DESIGN INSPIRATIONS:

Organic and material inspirations: The overall form and aesthetic of Plantr was determined by the unexpected juxtaposition of organic form and material choice. The goal was to create a pleasant ambient house object  and not a sensor-rigged house plant. The final form was a visually arresting design form which connoted mid-century modern furnishings, luxury, and an arch delicateness. However, those very traits proved to be a barrier to more intimate interactions and prevented people from engaging with Plantr in a more tactile and casual manner. In subsequent iterations, we plan on adjusting the design to create a less intimidating and approachable object by testing different paper colors and materials.

FINDINGS

User feedback: We tested different design iterations and discovered that the users tended to be visually engaged, but very anxious to literally come closer. When prompted to physically touch Plantr, users touched the part painted gold (the stem in the first image). In order to have the color affordance guide the user better, we decided to paint the leaf to gold instead of the stem. 

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Final Circuit Diagram 

Plantr circuit 2
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Bill of Materials 

Assembly List

LabelPart TypeProperties
Part1Particle Argonvariant variant 1s; part # Adafruit #3405
Part2NeoPixel Jewelvariant variant 1; part # 2226
Part3NeoPixel Jewelvariant variant 1; part # 2226
Part4Adafruit Standalone 5-Pad Capacitive Touch Sensor Breakout - AT42QT1070variant variant 2; part # Adafruit #1362

Shopping List

AmountPart TypeProperties
1Particle Argonvariant variant 1s; part # Adafruit #3405
2NeoPixel Jewelvariant variant 1; part # 2226
1Adafruit Standalone 5-Pad Capacitive Touch Sensor Breakout - AT42QT1070variant variant 2; part # Adafruit #1362


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Feedback 

In the final demonstration of the project we received various positive and negative feedback. 

People who interacted with our prototype and guests liked the simplicity of our product, the interaction was minimalist. They liked our design inspirations and the aesthetics, it made them want to interact with our plant. 

We got comments to work on the narrative and emotional aspect of the plant, to reconsider the gestures of interaction and to think about how do we interact with normal plants and incorporate them in our interaction design. 


Next Steps 

The further steps to improve this product would be :

1. Consider other technologies that could provide a much more seamless touch, like a capacitive spray paint 

2. Think more in depth about the time difference and mood changes within those time frame, how will people respond to the emotions when the person on the other slide has gone to sleep. 

3. Consider the natural interactions with plant such as ignoring it when you're sad rather than brushing it in a downwards direction, and how can these considerations be incorporated in our project 

4. Refine the storyboard  to reconsider the emotional significance this plant will have on it's users. 

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