Research Project
PlantMate: A Bidirectional Touch-Based System for Enhancing Human-Plant Empathy and Pro-Environmental Behavior
A system that lets people communicate bidirectionally with plants, human touch stimulates plant growth, while the plant's electrical signals (in response to its environment) are translated into gentle muscle stimulations felt by the person. The project aims to help people feel a genuine, physical empathy with nature.
Abstract
Enhancing the emotional connection between humans and nature is critical for fostering pro-environmental behavior, yet humans often struggle to perceive plants’ responses to environmental changes. Existing systems for human-nature interaction are largely unidirectional, limiting opportunities for meaningful empathy. To address this, we present “PlantMate”, a platform enabling bidirectional touch-based interaction. PlantMate translates users’ touch into bioelectrical stimulation to enhance plant growth while translating a plant’s electrical signals under varying environmental conditions (e.g., temperature, humidity) into electrical muscle stimulation for users. A pilot study with 12 participants revealed three key benefits: perceiving plants as interactive agents, decoding plant feedback, and redefining human-plant relationships through discernment and affective touch. This research highlights the potential of bidirectional human-plant systems, offering a novel approach to human-nature interaction while aiming to enable users to cultivate empathy for nature and encourage pro-environmental behavior.
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