M.I.K.E.
In a world where nature is under threat, can we communicate the magic of life underground?
Details
M.I.K.E. is an interactive educational installation about the invisible underground communication networks between trees, other plants, and fungi. Tangible interactive nodes, a responsive light show, and an immersive soundscape come together to tell an engaging science story.
Selected for the TU Delft exhibit at Dutch Design Week 2023. Visited by over 15,000 people.
Client
TU Delft Science Centre
Interactive Environments Minor
Timeline
October 2022 - February 2023
Services
Industrial Design
Interaction Design
Spatial Design
Credits
Rita Gorriz
Alexander Kiselev
Julia Kleinwachter
Tieme van Wijnen
Pablo Yaniz
My Role
All sketches, renderings, and 3D models are my own original work and ideas. Research, prototyping, software, and photography were done collaboratively.
How does it work?
Storyboard
Follow Tim through his experience with M.I.K.E. as he discovers the hidden world of mycelium networks and comes away with a newfound appreciation for nature.
Space
A 13 square meter space, darkened to make visitors feel deep underground, full of interactive nodes and enhanced by an immersive sound system, signage, and flyers.
Node System
I designed 3D-printed nodes for quick and easy printing and assembly, all custom-fit to specific intersections in the web of LED strips.
Inner Workings
You might have noticed there were no sensors in the nodes, how? We used a custom-trained image recognition model on footage from infrared Kinect cameras to detect hands touching nodes and trigger the interactive behavior.
*All credit for software dev to Alexander (Sasha) Kiselev*
How did we get there?
Project Brief
Create an interactive environment that tells a science story about complex communication/transportation networks for the new TU Delft Science Centre.
Guiding Questions
Initial Research
Chosen focus: mycorrhizal networks (mycelium). Interesting story to tell about sustainability and the value of nature.
Immerse visitors in the network, but how? Game? Visual experience? What physical representation?
Keep a high-level view for understandability; lots of complexity and levels of detail to explain otherwise.
Inspiration
Looking for: how to make network-like structures physically immersive, interactive, and visually interesting.
Starting to lean towards more abstraction over realism; allude to other kinds of networks and how they all relate.
Contrast between darkness (underground) and light (connection) to create engaging visual experiences.
Rough Sketches
Exploring different spatial realizations and interactions, with a few early options emerging from the chicken scratch.
Early Prototypes
By exploring form and interaction through quick, rough testing, from Wizard-of-Oz methods to integrated tech, our concept of the experience evolved:
Understanding: defined game —> open exploration. More allowance for people to learn and experiment without fear of losing the game.
Visual Experience: some representation —> total abstraction. Doesn't feel 'fake' or 'plasticky', alludes to other kinds of networks as well.
Fabrication: building structure —> using scaffolding. Spend less time + budget on building a big structure, more on refining the experience. Uses available resources well.
Final Direction
After our prototyping we landed on using the existing scaffolding space with a web of physical connections (LED strips) and interactive nodes. We used strings, wires, and fabric to get a feel for the density and height of the network.
The main physical aspect remaining to be figured out was the nodes: what would they look like, how would they be made, and how would people interact with them?
Node Design
One of my main contributions to the project.
Nodes had to:
1. be visually appealing (make people want to touch them),
2. interact well with the light and form of the LED strips
3. be easy/quick to manufacture (we had to make a lot!)
4. mount onto an existing web of LED strips
After getting feedback on the appeal of different forms and textures, some sketching and a lot of CAD, I landed on this final design.
Diffusion of light through transparent PLA, appealing organic form, easy printing and assembly, and a custom fit.
Final Thoughts
I learned a ton from this project about interaction, spaces, storytelling, teamwork, and more. There are many aspects we could still improve, but I believe we were quite successful in our goal to tell a compelling story about complex networks through an interactive environment.
Many thanks to my teammates Sasha, Pau, Rita, Tieme, and Julia, Aadjan and the rest of our coaches, and everyone else who helped us build, test, and exhibit this project.
