Hapta

Hapta is a speculative interaction that makes the hidden partnership between plants and Rhizobium bacteria, those tiny nitrogen-fixers at the roots, felt and understood. Instead of explaining the science on a panel, Hapta turns root-zone signals into a gentle, multisensory experience: subtle haptics, soft light, and evolving tones that “speak” when soil and plant are in balance (or stressed). We prototyped a soft, hand-held/wearable probe that sits near the root area and reads simple environmental proxies from the rhizosphere. The data is translated into a tactile and audiovisual language that invites people to respond, watering, repositioning, or simply paying attention, turning care into an interactive loop rather than a one-off action.