Project:
Friend Tree
Artist: Hikaru Furuhashi
Major: Film
Contact: pindots[at]hotmail.com
 [link
to slideshow]
[link
to diagram] |
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PROJECT
OVERVIEW
My Friend Tree is a park activity which links people to nature,
friends and growth.
The first prototype was a booklet "my friend tree in the mountain
lake park". It was like a children's picture book + ecology
class lab book. By using this booklet, [click
sprout to link to visuals].the
user was able to make a Friend Tree in the park. The user was provided
this booklet when visiting Mountain Lake park. Then he/she was able
to follow the pages of booklet and do the activity. The activity
is that the user will find a tree in the park that is exactly same
size of the user's "hug hole" (when make a circle with
arms, the diameter is same as the tree's diameter). And that is
the user's Friend
Tree. Users can bring other friends (human or non-human friends
such as dolls and stuffed animals) and do same things for them.
That will be the user's friends' Friend Tree. The user can sketch
their new Friend
Tree on the booklet. After the user finds his/her Friend
Tree, they can leave a message card for Friend
Tree. The card is biodegradable. This card allows the user
be able to talk to the tree, also can be a marker of the tree to
find it in a future visit. On the booklet, there is a map and stickers
that ask users to map where their Friend
Tree's are located. This helps users to recognize the location
of their Friend
Tree. The user will visit Mountain Lake park often in the
future, and every time they visit with this booklet, they can hug
their Friend
Tree
and see and feel the change or difference from their last visit.
And the user can make a note about it in the note section of their
booklet. So they can study the trees.
[link
to diagram]
SIGNIFICANCE
OF PROJECT
This project gives rise to creative involvement of the park management.
My Friend Tree
has the potential to create a community awareness. As this project
will make a connection between people and park/ people and people
stronger. In terms of the relationship between people and the trees,
it possibly provides a chance to study and become familiarize with
the trees as living species. Because the ancient human life was
deeply connected and depended on the forest’s trees before
they figure out that they can survive in the savanna, it is important
to understand the trees and its ecology, interactivity and relationship
with its living environment. Broadly, the trees are the lungs to
all the species in the planet. However it is commonly understood
that the trees are in danger all over the world. Thus, it is highly
significant to know about the trees and care about the trees with
the affection and respectfulness.
DETAILED
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
My
friend tree project will have many forms; a printed booklet, a web
site and a wireless application. Users will visit Mountain Lake
park and walk around. They will hug the trees in order to find their
“Friend
Tree”.
In the case of a wireless application, the audience is required
to have a cell phone that has Bluetooth or similar device that has
GPS capability. The mother computer has an environment that can
read (decode) and locate the data from the GPS satellite and make
a map. There will be a MyFriend
Tree
website and the audience can log on. There is a map of Mountain
Lake park and the indicator shows where the audience’s Friend
Tree
was located. Next step, the user can select the tree species similar
(or their choice) to their Friend
Tree.
They can change the size of friend tree to make it bigger or smaller
as their friend tree. [a default library of trees will be availble
with cutomizing tools for type and size) Each of things like pine
corns, apple, leaf, mushroom, bug and bird will have a special category
of information that the audience can load onto it, such as user
profile, hobby, message, note for friend tree, friends list, etc…
then, the tree is ready to locate to the original location where
audience found their Friend
Tree.
People will create multiple different trees and they will be visible
in the map of Mountain Lake park. At this point, there is an online
and offline community evolved. The information will be able to be
edited over time as the audience goes to the park to hug the tree
and find the difference. The tree is growing and people, the community
itself is also growing.
Resources
Falcom
www.falcom.de/e/e-body-produkte-a3djp3.html
Laipac
www.laipac.com/gps_eng.htm
Opits
www.opits.com/en/htm/product.htm
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