shiver and wave and collective conditions

so we've been able to play around with the motor so that it can produce two motion effects:
1. SHIVER
2. WAVE

at least for now, hereafter referred to as SHIVER state, and WAVE state.

the SHIVER state is quite fun and pretty much set, using a solenoid producing a rapid piston motion against the base of the plant (protected by some rubber). the WAVE state works ok with the solenoid, but we think maybe using muscle memory wire will create a more organic pulling effect, which results in a more freely swaying plant (rather than the more robotic regularity of the solenoid).

i like this use of 2 states of action because it feels like it starts to increase the complexity of the network. obviously starting in a prototype build phase we're trying to keep things simple and basic, providing a foundation from which to develop. and so far we have:

 - 3 identical plants, as representative of a network
 - motion as the defined behaviour
 - no defined trigger events
 - no pattern for continued network behaviour

already with this new development i can include 2 types of motion into the network, providing options for the plant behaviours.

interestingly, as a project under the theme of 'bodies', these actions are coming across as anthropomorphic, with the shiver state eliciting a sense of discomfort (like a shuddering or cowering effect, aside from the obvious chilly shivering) and a wave state evoking relaxed swaying or attention attracting (look over here!). having these motion options will enable a broader set of patterns to be built up.

also, i'm still trying to work through what the trigger is for the action among the plants. i'm wondering if perhaps i could monitor the collective network by taking a running average of conditions (humidity/temperature/voltage/light), and then if any one member of the network falls above/below the running average by a certain factor (say, 10%), then that is the plant that becomes the 'control' plant that triggers the others. this could also define which type of motion is elicited.

sketching out the idea of a running group average above. the more plants the better for this network, and i'm still toying with whether it is exclusively one type of plant, or many. (again, these go beyond the prototype stage, but are just ways of thinking through the options).

there's holes in this theory - the biggest being how to bring the 'control' plant back into equilibrium.