golem garden
Service:
physical and digital prototyping
Client
politecnico di milano
Field:
entertainment
Year:
2021
Overview
Golem Garden consists of a 3D printed smart piggybank that stores money, and a game application connected to it, that allows you to take care of virtual plants, while saving money.
The entire project has been developed using Arduino and Figma/Protopie prototyping.
Saving money with piggy banks feels outdated. Could we spark life into the experience, making it more fun?
how does it work?
The prototype is developed in two parts, a physical and digital one:
Physical Smart Money Box:
Through Arduino the team converted a piggy bank into a smart one, crafting a sensor with IR leds and specific parameters to be able to sense money sliding through it, storing the value and transmitting it to an application. The piggy bank itself has been modelled and then 3D printed by the team.
Game Application:
The application has been wireframed in Figma, then prototyped in ProtoPie, software that allowed us to communicate with Arduino. The Application is structured like a management game, where the user has to go through different levels by storing money and planting seeds, taking care of virtual plants.
prototyping, 3d printing, coding
The team spent several weeks studying and prototyping the service.
Starting with the basic building of the envelope with cardboard and low budget materials such as electronic components, we got an understanding of the basic functioning of coin sensors, and tested different C++ code techniques to be able to sense money and send signals through Arduino into the digital application, gradually increasing the quality and finish of the product.
Parallel to this, the application went through different phases of wireframing and architecture definition, integrating artistic self-made illustrations and basic game mechanics.
THE DIGITAL PROTOTYPE
The system is designed in a way to allow users to comfortably put their gaming device on top of the piggy bank connected. This creates a unique area of play: the player inserts a coin, and sees the reaction of the game directly on the screen. Once the user connects through bluetooth, the system goes online, and reacts to coin inserting and actions in the game.
Different game levels and species of plants were designed, to give the player a relaxing but also challenging experience. The player may also interact with the application through voice commands. Special effort was put into designing the piggy bank and the application in order to keep a coherent style that would also fit fundamental usability rules.
