project29:Interactions

The Digital Gardener interacting with people

This project focuses on the interaction between Humans, Virtual reality (through gaming) and Nature (through gardening). The idea is to make gardening more accessible to the City dwellers at the RDM, Rotterdam, the Netherlands and the world through gaming. The digital gardener could log in the system, check the status of his plan/s and take care of it through the use of a mobile app. In this way a sense of ownership can still be present in a public space. One spiral would be open to the public, while the other spiral will have limited access to individuals who would go there purposely to garden physically. A visual connection through several atriums enables the visitors to marvel at their plants and to experience the effects of the app.

Everyone is able to connect via a mobile app directly to the Digital Gardner. The simple user interface of the mobile app allows the gamer to pick a level and a specific location within the digital gardner. A range of possible plants, suitable to be planted, depending on; gradient, light and climate conditions are offered by the mobile app. Further more the gamer can make use of different tools like planting, watering or lighting. The App clearly indicated watering or lighting status and desired needs of the vegetation at the selected position to help the user to take care of his/her plants. By controlling the app the gamer gains the possibility to directly control actions within the Digital gardener in real time.

The project is designed in such a way to accommodate different group sizes of people, ranging from crowd to individual. One spiral would be open to the public, while the other spiral will have limited access to individuals who would go there purposely to garden.