Kickstarter Pick: 3rd Ward's Michael Zick Doherty Takes "Green Thumb" To The Next Level With Bitponics

As we've mentioned before, 3rd Ward's Michael Zick Doherty always seems to be working on innovative and inspiring projects. And today is no different. Teaming up with software engineer Amit Kumar, Doherty is currently raising funds on Kickstarter to support Bitponics, which they describe as "Your Personal Gardening Assistant." With just over a week left to go, they're raised over half of their $20,000 goal. Help them get there and you can score everything from a shout-out on the Bitponics website and a laser-etched Bitponics clay pot to a hydroponics workshop and your own Bitponics device.

We first caught wind of Bitponics when it won an Open Scholarship Scholarship last fall at the Open Hardware Summit, and that winning 26-second YouTube pitch has blossomed into an even more exciting and amazing project. In addition to automating and tracking any hydroponics system, Bitponics can help you cultivate anything that you'd like to see sprouting in your urban garden. "Once you tell it what you're trying to grow, it will use a database of knowledge built up by the community to create a 'growing plan' for you," the Bitponic Kickstarter page explains. "Bitponics will automate anything that can be controlled by a power outlet, like water pumps and lights." And for tasks that can't be automated? "We'll remind you by whatever means you choose: email, text, or in-app notifications."

The full Bitponics setup includes the sensor device, which collects readings like temperature, brightness and pH and lets you set up timers for lights and pumps, and an account on the Bitponics website, which helps you generate a growing plan, gives you recommendations if something in your system has gone awry, and lets you track all of your data and upload photos of your garden as it grows. The device will retail for $395, but you can get it for just a $250 Kickstarter pledge. You'll be able to store a year of growing data—or an unlimited amount for a higher-tiered membership. Anyone who just wants to give the website a whirl can store six months of growing data for free, and both the device and its Arduino-based firmware will be open source, making the possibilities endless.

Check out the Bitponics Kickstarter video and some photos below, then head to Kickstarter to learn more and pledge your support.

-- John Ruscher

MEMBER SHOW PROFILE // Get Comfy With Avgo, Michael Zick Doherty's Digitally Fabricated Chair

Avgo is not a typical chair. Nor is it a typical piece of woodwork, or a typical digital design.

Inspired by Ovalia, the iconic 1968 egg-shaped chair by Danish designer Henrik Thor-Larsen, 3rd Ward's Michael Zick Doherty and collaborator Nik Psaroudakis didn't use any screws and glue in their design for Avgo, opting instead for digitally fabricated slices that fit together like a puzzle. "It was designed entirely in a 3D modeling program and then converted by software into commands that are used to tell a CNC Router how to cut the forms out," Doherty says. "We also challenged ourselves to use the curves and angle of the joints to create a form that gave a strong sense of volumetric presence from 2D sliceforms. It was exhilarating to create such a complex form while playing to the limitations of the CNC machine we were using."

Avgo has been featured in the ITP Spring Show at NYU and on Core77, and you can see if for yourself this Friday, November 18 at the 3rd Ward Member Show.

Hit the jump to learn about some of Doherty's other awesome projects and check out some more photos of Avgo.

Avgo is just one of a wide range of amazing projects that Doherty's had a hand in, from the Open Hardware Scholarship-winning Bitponics to Windowfarms to some incredible innovations in mobile technology, and 3rd Ward has helped him both diversify and hone his skills. "I've always been a bit all over the place in terms of my craft," he says. "Being in some of the classes has really been great in forcing me to focus on learning a new skill in a set period of time. It's also just incredible to have all the resources at your fingertips. I'm always wishing I had more time to take advantage of what 3rd Ward has to offer. Teaching the interactive media class has been really amazing as well in that you really get to take a look at what you know from another perspective."

We probably don't have enough fingers to count all of the amazing things that Doherty has in the works, but he gave us a heads up on a couple of particularly exciting ones. "On the digital fabrication front myself and a couple partners will be launching something extra special that I can't say to much about yet, but if you're into creating the physical from the digital you should definitely follow @FabGuild on Twitter for our launch," he says. "I'm also doing research and development with a lab at EuroRSCG which is an agency in the city. My job is to come up project ideas that showcase new technologies. If you're interested in pushing the limits of technology, it's definitely worth checking out (http://madscience.eurorscg.com or @EuroNyMadSci)."

And now for more shots of Avgo:

-- John Ruscher