Combining electronics with glass graft to create an interactive plant container which tells you when your plant needs watered through changes in colour.
GrowGlow incorporates an Arduino Uno, a moisture sensor, and a NeoPixel ring within the base which changes colour based on the moisture of the soil, showing orange for dry and blue for moist. It is coded using the Arduino coding language, a variant of C++. The probe in the soil is able to detect moisture levels with accuracy and sends a message to the NeoPixel ring to emit the corresponding colour.
The pot and base are made of hand blown glass, using custom made moulds to allow them to sit perfectly within one another. The rounded intersection between the pieces allows the plant to be oriented towards the sunlight.
Applied Skills: Glass Blowing, Design Sketching, C++, Arduino Uno, Mould Making
Collaboration with Katayoun Hatami
Process
Molten glass gathers on the pipe, drops into your custom moulds, and cools into a crystal shell that will soon “speak” in light. Next, the Arduino Uno nests inside the base, its C++ sketch waiting for a signal from the moisture probe you slip into the soil. In the final frame the NeoPixel ring wakes—deep blue after a fresh watering, ember-orange as the compost dries. Each step embodies GrowGlow’s core idea: craftsmanship and code working together so a plant can ask for care in a language you can’t miss.
©bridgetcathie.com by Bridget Cathie