Fading Forest

The revised project description of “Fading Forest” still entails the core essence of what “Fading Forest” is all about, as seen through the previous presentations and prototype. In other words, we want to continue to express the acts of reforestation and deforestation in an artistic and abstract manner. Additionally, one of the aims of the installation is for it to have a role in educating the participants through human and computer interactions. The concept starts in ACW 103, participants walk into the room, instead of being greeted by individual acrylic trees spread across the room as previously planned, there will be a “network” of a tree’s molecular structure (lignin) that are interconnected together through the use of PVC pipes and joints, that envelope the participants within the room.

 

Instead of presenting it as a randomized network design, we wanted to go deeper in terms of the genetic infrastructure of a tree. Therefore, when we destroy anything, for example in this case, the forests of planet earth, the atoms and molecules break apart. As per the installation plan , there will be a two segments of the branched structures on the ceiling (http://www.antonygormley.com/projects/item-view/id/311#p5) and one segment of the lignin structure on the ground (https://goo.gl/uDkVnU).

 

Another change in our installation plan is the idea of creating a bridging connection between the virtual and physical world. Whatever action the participant does in the physical world, for example replant a tree through touching a force sensitive resistor, the effect will output a colour change, green. The changes in modes will also be activated within the virtual world. We are no longer using stepper motors or servo motors for the movement in the physical world since we have changed the design quite a bit. Therefore, all locomotive properties will be demonstrated within the virtual abstract.

 

Virtual World (Unity)

 

One of the main reasons why our group wants to implement a virtual world is, we want to be able to tell a much deeper story regarding deforestation and reforestation. It starts with the forests but the negative impacts does not just end within the forest spaces, it affects the whole planet Earth. This concept can be exhibited through the showcase of an imaginary timeline story that involves the effects of deforestation through cutting and burning of the forests and how it impacts the ozone layer.

We want to emphasize upon a cycle and chain reaction of events that can occur overtime.

 

The Timeline Concept (Detailed)

 

• The appearance needs to be consistent with the physical structure, since its aesthetic deals with the lignin molecular structure.  

• When we think about the planet and its construction, it is made up of atoms and molecules.

• As mentioned above, when we destroy anything, for example in this case, the forests of planet earth, the atoms and molecules break apart (it’s destroyed). As a result, the virtual aesthetic of the forest frame can be created using particle systems within Unity. These particles can be created as a mesh that contains branches that are interconnected together as a network. This will represent the network forests of planet earth, for example the boreal forest, amazon forest etc. in its skeletal form.  

• When we think about the forests of planet earth getting cut down (both in the physical structure and the virtual structure), we can showcase the molecular network  disintegrating even more into its atoms and molecules (just spherical representations and no longer a network), spreading across the space and fading over time. The only way for the participants to rebuild the network of forests bit by bit, is through replanting trees in the physical world (touching the force sensor attached on the stems of each of the live plants).

 

Forest Fire in the Virtual World

 

When a forest fire occurs in the virtual world, the network of forests slowly changes from green to a fire material through wrapping an image on a material and implementing on the particle system. Therefore, the fire can slowly spread throughout the whole network and molecules can slowly break apart in the virtual world everytime a tree is “burnt down” in the physical forest. The only way participants can “extinguish” the fire is through shining a light on the photoresistor in the physical world, and the particle system will slowly begin to repair itself again, returning to its fully green state, once all the photoresistors have been activated.