f o g : Smart Hydroponic Planter
Fog is Hydroponic Planter designed to incorporate a Fog Basking beetle's ability to trap moisture from the atmosphere. This studio project takes a futuristic approach towards the backbone of biomimicry. Not only does it convey a remarkable organisms mystery ability but also recreates it into a form of man made technology that could potentially be used in the coming future.
Design Futures
Industrial Design | 04 weeks | February 2022
Type: Studio
Time: 04 weeks
Team: Individual Project
Brief
Design Futures has to be one of my favourite studios of all time. With such a wide range of categories to intervene, this studio wanted to bring to light the more hidden features of biomimicry. Taking inspiration from forms has saturated design futures and biomimicry itself, this new approach enabled me to design a product that one can perceive and imagine better in the real world.
Contents
Story Board | Opportunity Areas | Ideation | Final Concept
Storyboarding
Being a plant enthusiast, I often saw table top plants dry up due to improper care. One of my areas of interest has been hydroponics due to its versatility and ability of plant rotation. The above storyboard mimics a few real life scenarios of plants drying up, being over watered or infected due breeding bacteria present in soil.
Overview
Sunlight | Water | Soil | Planter | Biomimicry | Future
Perspective
Design Futures
Technological advancements in the field of fabrication has enabled us to develop components thinner than strands of hair. This product falls under that part of the future where nano fabrication can give birth to technologies that are identified but lack viability.
Green Architecture for Products
Sustainable Lifestyle Trends
by Design
Composition Structure
The air intake module is moulded out of PLEXIGLAS®, which is a polymer virtually unreactive to sunlight which prevents yellowing. It is the same material used for aquariums, automobiles, airplane windows & submarine view glasses. The main body is casted using Lightweight Expanded Clay Aggregate or LECA, which is a strong, porous and lightweight clay composite. It can trap water into internal pores and disperse it across the composite via capillary action. It is easy to clean and can be scrubbed off any older plant remains. An aluminium 6063 base is non corrosive and good for anodising.
Top Elevation: A round form factor imitates a traditional plant pot. It also takes inspiration from the contemporary earthen pot for its hydroponic planter.
Bottom Elevation.
Modularity
The product disassembles into four primary parts. The base houses a drip tray for dripping water, having an aluminium cover, it does not react to moisture. The perforated ring acts as a stand for the LECA planter elevating it to create a gap for airflow. The metal ring also made using the same aluminium fits perfectly around a dedicated ridge in the bases drip tray. The polymer cap locks into place and can easy be pulled out for cleaning. The LECA planter can be directly rinsed, scrubbed multiple times to prepare it for new plants.
A still showing the complex vortex ridged interior structure of the LECA planter. The pattern lined with the same texture as the fog basking beetle shell, has a combination of hydrophilic and hydrophobic bumps and dents respectively. The planter is safe to clean and can be reused after every planting cycle.
A solar strip covers 1/3 of the base, when exposed to sunlight it charges a dedicated battery present inside the base of the planter. It first uses the conserved battery to power the airflow inspite of it being plugged to an external power source.
Coanda Effect
Above depicted are the airflow patterns of the fog Smart Hydroponic Planter. The colour shift from pink to blue represents a decrease in air humidity as it flows through the tunnel. The tunnel lined with the same texture as the beetles shell absorbs moisture from the passing humid air which percolates into the LECA body. The widening tunnel shape gives birth to the Coanda Effect, creating a central low pressure zone as the air passes close to the walls. This difference in pressure enables the tunnel to naturally pull more air through the high pressure zone, the airflow consistently increases due to constant differences between the tunnels pressure zones contributing to the turbines energy efficiency. This phenomenon is often observed in domestic blameless fans such as Dyson and even jet turbines
Internals
Component Structure and Assembly
Modularity helps contribute to the products functionality, but it also creates complexities in areas such as integration, fitment & reliability.
Exploded Views
A Temperature and Humidity sensor syncs with the electronics to alter turbine speed. Linked to an app, it can allow the user to track air quality around the plant.
A translucent base exposing the internal structure of the baseplate designed to provide rigidity for all components housed over it.
An exploded view of the planter base that houses the motor and all other electronics.
Designed for manufacturability, all components flawlessly come together contributing to ease of assembly.
An exploded view of the fog Smart Hydroponic Planter accurately showcasing every single one of its components and fixtures.
What makes it Smart+ ?
User Interface & Experience
Below is a representation of the app interface that syncs with the Temperature & Humidity sensor giving probable water cycle recommendations and enabling the user to track moisture levels in the air.
The app for the fog Smart Hydroponic Planter helps the user track moisture concentrations in the air around the planter using the Temperature & Humidity sensor with which the app automatically syncs. The interface shows Humidity and Temperature levels throughout the day. By recording and analysing this data it learns based on the planters geographic location, calculating probable watering cycles.
Designed to be an elegant and modern table accessory of the future.
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