Transmitting Nature

Transmitting Nature

We live in a world dominated by digital technology. It pervades almost every aspect of our daily lives but so few of us understand how it all works. With this ignorance comes a disassociation with the materiality of these technologies. The Internet may exist without an obvious physicality of its own but the devices that facilitate it use a wide array of metals and minerals. The way in which we mine these materials is devastating to both people and our environment.

The roots of the problem are entwined within global capitalism. The resources are mined all over the globe, sold on to countries like China, processed into components, assembled into devices before being disrupted world-wide. How can I, using my agency as a designer intervene in such an entrenched system? My approach was to create a counterfactual history that makes use of our contemporary knowledge to explore the possibility of re-engineering the hardware behind our digital technology, maintaining greater sympathy for, and working in collaboration with, Nature. To achieve this, I built a biocomputer.

The outbreak of the Coronavirus and subsequent lockdown has altered the function of my biocomputer. Instead of just building it as an example of an alternative approach to digital production, it has become a reflection of the time. The two biological mechanisms, the microbial fuel cells (powered by the mud dwelling bacteria, Geobacter sulfurreducens), and the electrical signals in plants, work in tandem to create binary code. That code is then transmitted through the radio antenna. The receiver records this stochastic binary, creating a manuscript which is then searched for the 8-digit binary codes that represent letters. These letters then become words. The Earth’s first words. In a time when we are isolated from each other and the world, this contemporary communion with nature has more relevance than ever.

First biological mechanisms - Microbial fuel cells. The cells are made by wrapping a carbon fibre electrode around a ceramic membrane. A second electrode is placed inside. When submerged in river mud, the Geobacter builds a biofilm on the outside electrode and the secreted electrons pass through the membrane to the dry electrode on the inside, creating a current. This energy is then stored in a super capacitor until needed.

The second biological mechanism works by recording the shift in the action potential in plants. The Calathea plant moves its leaves throughout the day. It controls this movement with a minuscule electric signal. This signal is monitored by electrocardiogram pad and amplified with a step up component. The resulting electrical signal is enough to turn on a transistor and allow the energy  to flow from the microbial fuel cells to the antenna at the top of the tower.