DisneyResearchHub. “BOTANICUS INTERACTICUS.” Online video clip. YouTube. YouTube, 3 Aug. 2012. Web. 30 Aug. 2014. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EcRSKEIucjk&feature=youtu.be
Developed by Disney Research in Pittsburgh, “Botanicus Interacticus” is an interactive technology that illustrates human influence on both artificial and live plants. Using sounds and visuals on a computer monitor, the technology maps out where the plant is being touched by a user and the amount of contact involved. The plant, a universal symbol of primitive nature, becomes technology in the form of an electrical circuit.
The electronic connection relies on placing one wire in the soil, not within the plant itself. For this reason, Disney Research refers to the project as noninvasive and harmless for live plants. The research team anticipates using this technology in a public installation setting, where people can experiment with how their touch relates to the plant in front of them. In personifying plants as capable of feeling and reacting to human actions, I think this project holds exciting potential. Users will be able to visualize their environmental influence and digest that plants are truly living things.
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