RoBotanics

Abstract

Using plant-hybrid technologies presents an unusual design opportunity, by combining living plants with technology. This master’s thesis delves into the integration of plant-hybrid robotics, exploring human-plant interaction systems. The study explores the potential design implications of this field, particularly in public settings where interactions with humans are unavoidable. This way, the project aims to stimulate design for physical and psychological connections between humans, nature and technology.

RoBotanics, the case study in this exploration, focuses on designing an extremely slow-moving swarm of plants that subtly roam public indoor spaces. This way the concept subtly tries to express the passage of time. Plants lack the capacity for verbal communication or auditory perception like humans. Instead, the concept allows the plants to rely on sensing through its leaves. The physical properties of the selected plant, Dypsis Lutescens, allows the plant-hybrid robot to have a large amount of ‘antennae’ (like insects) on all sides. This quality enhances the range of the plant sensor. The plant collects data on human-plant activity, which informs its navigation. This equips plants with subtle autonomy, bringing more liveliness to an otherwise static environment.

The prototype has demonstrated that inattentional blindness allows the plant to quietly navigate shared spaces with humans without causing distraction. Moreover, varying slow speeds affect the plant’s physiological dynamics uniquely, triggering different responses. This case study contributes to the field of human-plant interaction by highlighting the potential for plant-hybrid robots to coexist alongside humans.