Growth rendering device [dwbowen.com] by David Bowen is a charming hybrid installation at display in the BioLogic Art Gallery at SIGGRAPH09. It consists of a pea plant fed by a hydroponic solution, a scanner and inkjet printer, joined into a self-documenting feedback system: the system documents the plant's growth - enabled by the system's nurture and light - by scanning it every 24 hours and printing the resulting outline on a paper roll right underneath the plant. The paper roll is then scrolled four inches to make space for the next print. The result is a growing series of daily plant portraits, documenting the full lifecycle of the plant.

See also C02 Translator Robot.

This post was written by Moritz Stefaner, a researcher and freelance practitioner in the field of information aesthetics. Occasionally, he blogs at well-formed-data.net.