Rocketboom featured Botanicalls today as part of their overview of the ITP Winter Show. We were also pleased to hear from the ITP faculty that Botanicalls could continue to be installed at ITP for the next six months so the system can be developed further.
It was a terrific show with a large and appreciative crowd. The four Bontanicalls team members, Rebecca Bray, Kate Hartman and Kati London and myself, were helped by the comments and suggestions of our classmates and instructors in the Sustainability, Project Development Studio, Network Objects and Network Effects classes at ITP.
The Botanicalls project made its debut at the ITP Winter Show on December 17th. Botanicalls allows thirsty plants to place phone calls for human help. Rather than driving a wedge between people and nature, the project uses technology to bring people into closer relationships with their natural environment. Humans can also phone the plants to learn about their origins and characteristics, including how they like to be cared for. You can call the plants right now at +1-212-202-8348.
Each plant has its own voice and will report when it needs water, if it has been over-watered or under-watered or if it is getting too much or to little light. Plants will also call back with thank-you messages when they’ve been properly cared for.
The Botanicalls web site contains a complete system diagram, including a description of the networking and call-processing system that is used.
XBee radios can now record and output multiple channels of digital and analog data without using microcontrollers. The latest firmware (version 10A1) supports up to seven channels of analog input, nine channels of digital I/O and two channels of analog (pulse-width modulation) output. These will be great for creating small sensor modules or miniature output modules with low power and very low complexity.
Andrew Schneider and I cobbled a couple experimental modules together last weekend, and I recreated them for a demonstration to my Project Development Studio class. Here’s the presentation on XBee Direct that I gave to the class. Firmware updates can be performed with MaxStream’s X-CTU software, and you’ll certainly need to do this if your XBee’s were purchased before 2007.
Direct I/O should be considered for wearables, remote controls, toys, covert sensors, computational jewelry or anything airborne. Photos of the input and output circuits are below, along with the AT commands for this setup, with one analog (potentiometer) and one digital (switch) input, and the corresponding outputs (motor & LED):
INPUT MODULE:
ATID3456 –> PAN ID
ATMY1 –> my address 1
ATDL2 –> destination address 2
ATD02 –> input 0 in analog mode
ATD13 –> input 1 in digital in mode
ATIR14 –> sample rate 20 milliseconds (hex 14)
ATIT5 –> samples before transmit 5
ATWR –> write settings to firmware
OUTPUT MODULE:
ATID3456 –> PAN ID
ATMY2 –> my address 2
ATDL1 –> destination address 1
ATP02 –> PWM 0 in PWM mode
ATD15 –> output 1 in digital out high mode
ATIU1 –> I/O output enabled
ATIA1 –> I/O input from address 1
ATWR –> write settings to firmware
Input Module with Potentiometer and Switch
Output Module with Vibrator Motor and LED
This moisture sensor circuit is based on a design by Forrest Mims, and adds a Shunt Ammeter so that the output is 0 to +5 Volts instead of amperes. We are using it for the ITPlants project, so that when soil moisture drops below a minimum, the plant can make a phone call for help. Other call-worthy events will be a thank-you when the plant does get watered, a warning if the plant is watered too often, and a follow-up call if the watering is insufficient. This is going to be one chatty shrub.
This moisture meter was based on a circuit from Forrest Mim’s excellent “Getting Started in Electronics” book. It uses an Ampere meter (not pictured) via a amplifying transistor to display the conductivity of the soil in a planter. And it works! This setup may be the basis for our primary plant sensors for ITPlant.
For Project Development Studio I’m working with Kate, Rebecca and Kati on a project to create an interaction network between live plants and people. Here’s our ITPlant notes.
After Dark Whimsical toasters
Tile Toy Modular interaction
Element Good lookin’ objects
X10 Home automation
