Domain

Speculative design, Animal of Things (IoT-AoT)

Tools

Arduino (IDE), Processing, AC light dimmer module

Deliverable

Art installation, Motion/Video, Physical Computing

Statement

PET OR ? is a video-light installation proposes the causal relationship between dogs’ data and domestic objects conveyed through the interaction between the different behaviors of dogs and a changing light bulb. I am envisioning an IoT future by using dogs’ extraordinary sensing abilities to contribute their data to a system and help predict danger in advance, such as to warn about natural disasters or diseases.

Will you choose to stand as a human welfarist or an animal rightist when facing the situation of technology over-using from animals to serve the society?

Whatever it is about technology, politics, economy, and other fields, improving things that can really serve the human being always drives the world running. The Internet of Things is coming to us in a predictable process. This project presents an IoT future connected to animals.

Through a review of related projects on this topic, I am proposing a new perspective, a speculative ethics about whether to stand as a human welfarist or an animal rightist when facing the situation of technology over-using from animals to serve the society.

How will the role of pets be influenced in our lives?

Will they be strictly required to conform to the rules of human?

Will they be utterly exploited when involved in the animal-IoT future?

Concept Explore & Backend Technology

I start with the question of what is smart. What is actual smart despite the technology? The diagram shows my research flow, as well as the developing progress of this project.

The context of “smart objects” happens globally after the development of the Internet of Things. Through a review of related projects on these topics, I found there is more interesting research showing the smart phenomena of data processing existing in natural intelligence, especially comes from animals. For example, a dog or cat can detect the danger of their surrounding in advance, such as predicting an earthquake or the disease because of the sensitive sensors they have. By sensing very low or very high frequencies, combined with their sensitive olfactory systems, they can judge subtle changes in a wide range of environments.

The lighting motion is programmed in Arduino. Through the serial communication between Processing and Arduino, the video playing will send the trigger to the Arduino, further control the light change through the dimmer module.

There are several different codes based on the different behaviors of dogs in the video, those codes will trigger different lighting motion. This installation is simulating the futural IoT working flow through an artistic, abstract way. I think this form could resonate the audience more rather than a hardware product design.