Abstract
Unlike interactions with electronic devices—which demandthe full focus ofhuman cognition through screen-based interfaces—our engagement with nature is subtle, embodied, and continuously perceived, even without conscious attention. In the context of a decent connection between human and nature life rhythms, this study introduces a novel plant- human symbiotic meditation system that transforms real-time photosynthetic signals into generative soundscapes, enablingaform ofcross-species interaction in which plant rhythms serve as perceptual cues in human meditative regulation. Distinct from prior human-plant interaction work that treats plants as passive background elements or aesthetic artifacts, this research emphasizes the expressive role of living plants in shaping human mental states through bio-sensory coupling. Using both physiological and qualitative data, the study illustrate show the perception of plant life rhythms can accompany and modulate human meditative experience. Through cross-species sensory coupling, this research proposes a new direction for more- than-human interaction design. By preserving the natural state of living organisms, it challenges anthropocentric paradigms of control—replacing command-driven interaction with one rooted in coexistence, subtlety, and mutual respect, where technology is not imposed on life but harmonized with it.
Keywords
Human-computer interaction; Human-plant interaction; More-than-human; Meditation
DOI
https://doi.org/10.21606/iasdr.2025.741
Citation
Chen, Y., Sun, S., Wang, Y., Hu, Y., Xu, W., Zhu, Y.,and Bai, Y.(2025) Breathing Beside the Leaf That Guides Us: An Experimental Study on a Plant-Human Symbiotic Meditation System Design, in Chang, C.-Y., and Hsu, Y. (eds.), IASDR 2025: Design Next, 02-05 December, Taiwan. https://doi.org/10.21606/iasdr.2025.741
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Conference Track
Track 1 - More Than Human-centered Design
Breathing Beside the Leaf That Guides Us: An Experimental Study on a Plant-Human Symbiotic Meditation System Design
Unlike interactions with electronic devices—which demandthe full focus ofhuman cognition through screen-based interfaces—our engagement with nature is subtle, embodied, and continuously perceived, even without conscious attention. In the context of a decent connection between human and nature life rhythms, this study introduces a novel plant- human symbiotic meditation system that transforms real-time photosynthetic signals into generative soundscapes, enablingaform ofcross-species interaction in which plant rhythms serve as perceptual cues in human meditative regulation. Distinct from prior human-plant interaction work that treats plants as passive background elements or aesthetic artifacts, this research emphasizes the expressive role of living plants in shaping human mental states through bio-sensory coupling. Using both physiological and qualitative data, the study illustrate show the perception of plant life rhythms can accompany and modulate human meditative experience. Through cross-species sensory coupling, this research proposes a new direction for more- than-human interaction design. By preserving the natural state of living organisms, it challenges anthropocentric paradigms of control—replacing command-driven interaction with one rooted in coexistence, subtlety, and mutual respect, where technology is not imposed on life but harmonized with it.