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Pollen

About

Pollen is an herbal tea machine based on the concept of butterfly movements. It customizes your drinks based on your skating motions, movement space, and personal body data. With Pollen, you can enjoy personalized and refreshing herbal teas tailored specifically for you.

Location

Pasadena, CA

Type

Personal project

Length

14 week

Year

2019

Tools

Arduino, Metal, Adobe PS, Adobe AE.

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Background

Backstory

Inspired by The Butterfly Lovers, an outstanding performance by Chinese skater Chen Lu, the skater gracefully spins, jumps, and glides across the ice, resembling a butterfly dancing in the cold wind. The project not only aims to create a visually captivating effect but also explores various methods to help the audience cherish and remember the skater's beautiful moments.

As a child, my fondest memories of time spent on the ice arena involved enjoying a warm drink after hours of rigorous training. Herbal tea, a traditional Chinese beverage, has the unique ability to capture the essence and fleeting beauty of plants, transforming them into a delightful and savored drink. Similarly, these concepts can be applied to translate the skater's fleeting movements into unforgettable memories, leaving a lasting impression on the audience.

Concept Insipiration

01

Research

Expert Interview

Technology Support

Due to the nature of figure skating, where skaters perform risky movements on the ice but cannot wear hard materials like helmets, I have chosen to utilize soft materials to collect a wide range of data points.

02

Design Exploration

Visual Inspiration

Sketches

The clip arts served as a source of inspiration, stimulating my imagination and leading me to create "abstract" machines that reflect my impressions of ice skating. Through these artistic expressions, I aim to capture the essence and beauty of figure skating in a unique and creative way.

System Map

Mockup Machine

03

Final Design

Mockup Machine

Final Look

pollen_machine mechanism 2

Check the videos

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pollen_machine mechanism 1

Videos

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