Team:
Hunia Tomoum
Rim Alaa
Why Bioplastic
Our project to present in the first Cairo Minimaker Faire was biomimicry of the interactivity of responsive ocean Creatures; Pyrosomes, and Atolla Jelly fish.
Bioplastic came to mind as it was the closest material property to what we wanted so as to resemble ocean creatures. It is translucent which helps diffuse light and create a gradience or colors, and on the other hand its fluffy sense of touch.
Material experimentation using bioplastic,and interactive simulation using Arduino.
Pyrosomes
They are bioluminescent creatures; pink or white in color. They have the ability to flash a blue-greenish light which can be seen from 30 meters away. They flash light through a chemical reaction producing energy to light up each individual zooid. Subsequently, their neighbours light up. Different colonies communicate together by flashing light.
Pyrosomes exhibit waves of light passing back and forth through the colony, as each individual zooid detects light and then emits light in response.
The idea was to design a creature having multiple points communicating by flashing light along a linear form, with photocells as inputs and LEDs as outputs.
Atolla Jelly Fish
They are bioluminescent creatures; When threatened, the Atolla jelly fish enacts a series of bioluminescent blueflashes, much like a police car alarm. Many creatures at this depth use bioluminescence as a defensive tactic, but scientists believe that the Atolla jelly fish uses it to draw the attention of other creatures to attack the potential predator as it swims to safety.
They emit blue light as the blue color travels the farthest in the dark habitat where they live. They are usually red in color because it helps them blend into the dark water.
The idea was to design a creature with a self defence mechanism using alarm light. It is a radial design with a centred monitoring unit, with proximity sensor and LEDs as outputs
