Quick Contest : Flash and Arduino

August 4, 2010 - via Mike Chambers Blog Post

Physical computing is awesome. Especially when you bridge the gap between traditional and physical computing. It just seems natural to extend what a user would normally gain from a computer screen to something physical that can produce tangible, emotional connections with the real world.

Mike Chambers Flash and Arduino Quick Contest got me thinking of an interesting concept that could possibly be worth experimenting with. This idea, which I’m tentatively code naming as the “Adobe Flash Garden” would break the norm of traditional data visualization.

Adobe Flash Garden

The Goal:
Extend traditional data visualization: pie charts, line graphs, bar graphs, etc. towards visualization mechanisms in the real world.

The Idea:
Two types of visitors would visit the Adobe Flash Garden Online Experience:

1. Users running an internet enabled desktop or mobile with Adobe Flash Player installed
2. Users running an iDevice without support for Adobe Flash Player

As one of the two above users visits the Adobe Flash Garden Online Experience, it is determined whether or not the user has Adobe Flash Player installed. This data is then sent to a server, which is physically located at a real “garden” with soil and seeds ready to be nourished. This server which connected to a microcontroller (in this case the Arduino) then “feeds” and “nourishes” the appropriate plant(s) in the Adobe Flash Garden.

Plant A: Flash Player Visitors
Plant B: Non-Flash Player Visitors

(Above: Adobe Flash Garden Diagram, click to enlarge)

“Nourishing” mechanisms connected to the Arduino via relays and actuators would consist of:

• Irrigation system: H2O
• Nutrient Solution Supplement
• Artificial Sunlight: lamps mounted above garden
• Speakers: for soothing music or motivational encouragement, “you can do it!”

(Above: Adobe Flash Garden Video Feed of the Seed View, click to enlarge)

To expand on this idea even more, “nourishment” can also be given not only based on unique visits but from the overall internet “mood” from negative or positive “buzz” via social mediums: twitter, facebook, etc.

(Above: Adobe Flash Garden Online Experience UI Concept, click to enlarge)

As viewers visit the Online Experience, the statistics should become easily visualized by the health and growth of the plants, along with it’s sensor data.  With the physical & emotional connection of real “live” visualization, this concept can demonstrate an extremely effective and powerful data visualization vehicle. Imagine if this “Flash Garden” could be available not only online, but also for the public to visit as an exhibit at one of the Adobe Campuses.