Solar Water Fountains and Datafountain

With help from Silvia, I have beens shopping around for solar water fountains for the Technology Garden. We found that most commercial water fountains are pretty ugly and are overpriced. The situation only gets worse if one wants solar power. I decided to try experimenting with building my own as it is possible to get a solar powered pump on ebay for as low as $30. I'm still waiting for my pump and solar panel to arrive, but I have certainly been thinking about water fountains.

Lately, I have been thinking about how much the Technology Garden would benefit from an ambient display. I also thought of how cool it would be to use the ambient sound of water flowing to convey the sensor data that we are now working so hard to capture. Perhaps the sound and visual of greater or lesser amounts of water flowing could provide information about soil moisture. After all, if people are chilling out in the TG, which doubles as a lounge, they probably won't want to stay fixated on the display on our monitor. We've got our hands more than full at the moment just trying to get bare bones system working, but this is an idea that is worth exploring.

Of course after doing a search, it turns out that someone has already done something similar. The Datafountain is connected to money currency rates on the internet. Refreshed every five seconds, the fountain displays the Yen, Euro and Dollar (¥€$). This mobile fountain measures 5x4x3 meters. The Datafountain is supposed to show how the interdependence of currency rates is interconnected, but I imagine that you'd have to watch the fountain a pretty long time in order to get the message. I'm not troubled that someone has already done something similar as the goals of the Technology Garden are focused on how we can create awareness of plants and nature and the technology is just one element of our research. We're interested in the what the technology facilitates more so than the technology itself.

Measuring Soil Moisture

One of the linchpins of our early prototype will be soil moisture sensing. We're still figure out how exactly we're going to do this although we are making progress. A big problem with almost all of the soil moisture sensors available is that they are industrial grade. They're big, waterproof, require all sorts of elaborate accessories, and are very expensive. I found a company that creates kits for educational settings, but it comes with one expensive soil moisture sensor and proprietary software that won't work for our application. A couple weeks ago we were just about to purchase some pricey sensors only to discover at the last minute that it required an additional expensive piece of equipment that would not provide a real time data feed without he addition of yet another piece of equipment. So we had to start from the drawing board again.

The only significant body of hobbyists dabbling with moisture sensors seem to be weather geeks who are specifically interested in "leaf wetness sensors" to measure dew. It does seem, however, that much of the hardware and software appropriate for that is also appropriate for soil moisture sensors.

Marcel has volunteered to make the sensors himself based partially on a schematic that Bryant found. It turns out to be pretty easy to make a soil moisture sensor with a bit of electrical engineering know-how and a few dollars. We already have a data acquisition and control device from LabJack. Of course the hard part is getting everything to work together! Now we just have to decided if we're going to go with the homemade set up or with the Watermark sensor. Probably the decision will be made tomorrow. We also have to decide whether to use the moisture meter from Hobby Boards. We weren't sure if the Hobby Board moisture meter set would work for us, but I found this paper Intelligent Plant Monitoring System online today by Ya-Shian Li. Ya-Shin may have used the moisture meter in conjunction with a home made sensor. Might be some useful clues here how to set up our system and how to write the API at least. As the soil moisture sensing is a means to an end for us, I'm hoping that we will get this part of the system up and running ASAP.

Introducing the Technology Garden

We are in the early stages of conceptual design for a new project: The Technology Garden. The Technology Garden will be a community maintained garden located in an office that will be equipped with sensors and ubiquitous displays mounted throughout the workplace.

The Technology Garden will support dialog and thinking about how humans and plants relate to each other. By involving our institution in the care and observation of a community garden located in an office, we will also explore what role institutions may play in supporting sustainable activities and thinking. We wish to facilitate new forms of awareness and interaction amont humans and nature through and with technology. Our goal is not only to bring nature into a working space, but also to establish new forms of understanding of nature/organic planting, of what it meanst to take care of a plant and how that can be explored in a collaborative manner. We will explore how to transform a working environment into a hybrid living space that values not only group collaboration and efficient technology, but also provides an enjoyable place that invites relaxation and promotes health.

Goals

• Encourage interaction between humans and nature.
• Promote awareness of the interaction of natural and human processes.
• Explore how technology can encourage relationship building through common activities.
• Encourage dialog on sustainability and sustainable practices.
• Provide a “place with a purpose to meet and relax” for both visitors and residents.
• Create a form of sociality that extends beyond the immediate space of an office or a hallway through visualizations that support garden awareness.

Design Concept

Community gardens are often run by non-profits that lend small plots of land to individuals. The location and limited space of office 5054 would prohibit the creation and allotment of garden plots, however the allotment of pots and potting soil is quite feasible.

The Technology garden will serve as a communal lounge or break room thus providing benefits and enjoyment to all Informatics members and visitors, not just to those who are actually participating in plant growing. Faculty, students and visitors can each plant their own individual plant, collaboratively taking care of and planting an organic garden.

The room will be equipped with seed packets and canisters containing soil. Each seed packet is equipped with an RFID tag. When brought in proximity to an RFID reader information about how to plant the specific seed will be viewed on a display.

The Technology Garden will always be there during work hours and will have the added benefit of allowing community members to check on the status of not only their own, but the plants of others online.

We would also like to incorporate a fountain and Ecosphere art to continue the theme of the mediation of human experience through technology and nature.

Sensor Usage

Using CO2 sensors (and possibly also oxygen sensors), we can show how CO2 goes up from respiration when people enter and remain in the space, but goes down as plants inspire CO2 from the air and fix it in sugars for their growth. Additionally we can use Oxygen (O) sensors to show how oxygen levels change over time. Once we understand how to set up the demonstration cost effectively, it could be a model for classrooms and museums. The goal of the demonstration is to reveal the close relationship between people and plants.

Soil moisture sensors will allow measurement of the level of dryness of each plant and the garden as a whole. These sensors will allow visual feedback to gardeners and the greater community to the status of the individual plants and the garden as a whole.

Supporting Awareness and Collaboration

While the garden remains in the room, the activity of growing and caring for plants expands into the whole building. A web cam captures people planting the seeds and taking care of their growing plants. Pictures randomly taken by the web cam will be sent to small Play Station Portable (PSP) screens that are distributed throughout UC Irvine’s Donald Bren Hall.

Visual representations of individual plants and the garden as a whole will enable easy monitoring of plants and the whole garden. Visualizations will be accessible both in the Technology Garden and remotely.

A blog will help community members and other interested parties keep up-to-date with regard to relevant news (e.g., changes in the environment or regulations) or to share helpful tips.