Recharge: Tree of Life

The proposal could be defined a little further. The sketch is helpful but its not clear what scale the object is? How large is the flower pot - is it 2ft tall or is it 10 feet tall? These details matter.

There’s also some technical components to this work. How are you going to detect that a phone is plugged in and charging to any one port? Can you do this reliably. Do you have precedents for this technology to work reliabilityy. Adding this technical component adds complexity and you should weigh it carefully.

You also need to define the non-interactive state. What happens when the installation doesn’t have any devices plugged in? Does it still produce audio or is it ‘dead’/inactive. How do you signal that something can happen?

I think your site also needs to be defined further. The bottom of the stairwell isn’t an ideal choice for this kind of installation. People don’t gather or wait there - they won’t be willing to spend 10-15 minutes waiting there to charge their phone. Instead you should find places where people naturally wait and there would be this willingness. For example near the benches outside Studio A could be more suited.

You should also look for precedents where people have created installations with cell phones or plants e.g.
https://www.disneyresearch.com/project/botanicus-interacticus-interactive-plant-technology/
https://vimeo.com/8118831

P.S.
I’d recommend looking at Makey Makey (http://www.makeymakey.com) a super useful tool for creating interactive media surfaces from everyday materials. These are perfect for working with wire and would allow you to have media playback happen as someone directly interacts with your wire. We have a few in stock in IDeATe for this project

Your proposal reminds me of those charging stations that are everywhere in the airports. By making them into an appealing shape, I think you can have something that not only is functional but also looks cool.

I would consider adding more floral elements, maybe like a ring of petals around each lightning cable!

The world has needed this for so long I'm glad someone finally made an accessible way to charge phones but also makes it fun! I really hope Hunt can keep this on display forever should you succeed because that's awesome.

I like your idea of using wires not only as an art component, but also as an actually functioning material. I also love how you intend to design a floral shaped charger, since this might allow multiple phones to be charged at the same time. I think you may need to work on the technical skills that allow you to create this installation, since making a phone charger out of wires may not be that easy. What's more, I would suggest that you consider safety issues for your self-made charger.

I really enjoyed reading about how and why you came up with this project! I think the final result is a great iteration on the original idea- it shows clear signs of development and revisions.

I would have liked more information on the exact methods of creating your tree. For instance, how did you shape the wires? How did you collect the wires together?

I think your project is a great combination of nature and technology. Not only is it functional (like tech), but it is also pretty (like nature). Congrats!