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
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