PROJECT TITLE: Reconsidering human-nature Relationship
PROJECT STATEMENT OF PURPOSE *
Our project aims at making people rethink about human-nature relationship. We gained the inspiration first from the art gallery on the 1st floor called the 72-relations with a golden rog. We would like to make an interactive project that allows people to rethink the way they can interact with nature. A website called Way To Go narrows our idea. As shown in the website, we decide to project the users on the screen and encourage them to explore their way of interaction with nature. Feedback will be given as users interact with the nature in the screen to make them realize their impact on the nature.
PROJECT PLAN *
We will make our project like a screen-based VR. Users will be encouraged to interact with multiple sensors outside the screen but the effect will be shown visually on the screen. In terms of the actions, we will finish our shooting by Nov.23 and edit it on Nov.24. On Nov.25-27, we will be working on the code in Arduino and processing. We need to first figure out which sensors we need for users to “interact with nature.” Then we will be working on projecting the users as well as the animation. On Nov.28-30 we will try to modify the code on our own based on the guidelines from the fellows, professors or learning assistants. By Dec.2, we will roughly get the whole project done and try to run it. For the rest of the week, we will be focusing on digital fabrication and modifying our code based on some feedback like user testing.
CONTEXT AND SIGNIFICANCE *
Besides the “way to go” website, several other research also inspired me in preparation for the final project. For example, the interactive IKEA LED table projects user’s physical interaction to a larger screen and therefore enhances the user experience. Or the interactive playground project where the users are encouraged to give input (throw) continuously. It’s also immersive. The idea of immersion is important in our screen-based VR where the user’s input and output will be amplified on the screen. Together with the feedback the user receives from their input, they’ll be encouraged to give more inputs, which aligns with our definition of interaction that interaction should be in a “continuous” one. We will base our project on the “way to go” website, but intends to allow more interaction than simply “looking” nature and walking around in it. 
Our project is intended for anyone because human-nature relationship concerns the whole human body. We particularly want people who don’t care about nature and consider nature as disposable resources to rethink what nature is and our relationship to it. After successful completion, we want the project prompts people to rethink about our relationship to nature and realize the impact we’ve made on nature. Subsequent projects will meaningfully build upon that concept and further encourages humans to reflect on their perception of nature.
Reference