Cicada’s Garden

Where energy is endless!

In the Cicada’s Garden one can find artificial life, and some of its inhabitants interact with those who visit it. Throughout their path, the visitors will find “flowers” that react to their passage and “flowers” that spend their days storing energy just to be able to light up at night. Also, one can find several “technological bugs” located in distinct places, and hear the sound of a cicada. Does it exist?

All the energy that gives life to the garden is obtained from the Sun, from the wind and also from all of those who visit it.

Location: Centro Ciência Viva do Algarve, Faro, Portugal.

Snails’ Race

This experiment exhibits the concept of energy transformation. When pedaling the bike, the visitor will transform mechanical energy into electrical energy. This electrical energy activates the bike lights that fall upon solar panels, located on the snails’ shells, setting them into motion. The more vigorously one pedals, the stronger the light and the faster the snail will go up the inclined track.

Location: Centro Ciência Viva de Bragança, Portugal

Painting Robots

Following a collaboration with the artist Leonel Moura, starting in 2003, IDMind developed a variety of painting robots with different characteristics.

These robots are sensitive to the surrounding environment, which they interpret accordingly to specialized color sensors. Thus, once they detect a white canvas, they start with generating random color pigments, drawing something that we could call a sketch of the painting; from that, they start reacting to the detected colors, developing the painting until they consider it finished. Then, as any other artist, they signs their name.