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The work

Research

The decisions behind Xeed, what already runs, what comes next, the research question and how to work with us.

A Flabellum leaf, a translucent digital plant shaped like a ginkgo fan.

Three directions are decided.

  • The first commercial trial is for adult collectors. Decided
  • The research asks about explanation and transfer. Decided
  • A blockchain is used only if people need to verify or hand over outside Xeed. Decided

What already runs

The life-and-history core is working software; the public website shows it as a demo.

  • Where it comes from: the I PAD installation (2025), where a visitor approached, touched and was answered. Built
  • A rule engine that answers within authored limits. Built
  • A life kernel: a world model, a daily step, four states, five innate values, events and nightly dreams. Built
  • An append-only history of every encounter, replayed across visits. Built, not public yet
  • Tests for the engine and the history. Built
  • A language model may read your words as one intent; the rules decide. Built, not public yet
  • A native TouchDesigner prototype, X-001 v0.6, outside this site. Built
  • Xight: a base, an identity chip and a spatial display for one plant. Proposed

What comes next

Each of these is planned or still to decide. Each carries its label.

Day 1, day 7, later

Day 1

  • One gentle touch is acknowledged at once, then a slow unfurl. Proposed
  • Give the individual a name. Proposed

Day 7 Proposed

  • You see the earlier encounter beside the present one.
  • Save a moment, or leave it resting.

Later Proposed

  • Behaviour you discovered, a living display, a meeting between two plants.
  • A seasonal collection.

Dreams as a learning tool Proposed

Each night, part of the plant’s hidden state over that day becomes a short visual dream. It is a tool, not a scaffold: it stays and does not fade.

  • Each night’s dream is drawn by rule on Meet a digital plant today. Built
  • A generated image may take the rule drawing’s place. The state values set the picture, and the model sets only the style. Proposed
  • The dream contains no text. The plant never states its state in words. Reading the dream stays with the learner.
  • Its effects are reported two ways. Effects with: reasoning with the dream present. Effects of: reasoning from motion alone.

Four fixed mappings, state to picture

Stress
Pace
Warmth
Colour temperature
Day length
Light angle
Valence
Brightness

Reading the dream Proposed

  • The learner uses the dream together with the plant’s motion. They can check their reading against the recorded data.

Inspired by the designer’s earlier project Lucidia (opens in a new tab). Lucidia externalised human dreams. Xeed turns the same question to a plant’s hidden state.

Five forms

Each will live by its species’ habits and seasons. Proposed

Collecting, stated before you open

Before you open, you see the series theme, the possible outcomes and what is included. You also see the service period and how duplicates are treated. Proposed

  • Paid editions are for adults only. Odds and total cost are shown first. Proposed
  • Learning editions have no paid draws. Proposed
  • One individual per order. No reroll. Proposed
  • Editions: Core, Uncommon and Rare. Proposed
  • A Life Passport, a Personal Care Record and the Habitat Commons keep three kinds of record. Proposed
  • Eco Credits are participation points. They are not cash, interest or carbon offsets. Proposed
  • The next holder receives an individual with a public story, then adds a new chapter. Proposed

From a digital plant to a real one

A real connection needs an object, a date, a source and a feasible way to return.

  • The first city and partner are still to decide. Open

The question

Does access to a plant’s own history help people reason about real plants? Proposed

  • Two studies with paid adult participants, recruited through a university. Proposed
  • Each history can be read as an evidence card: record, interpretation, assumptions and gaps. A competing explanation sits beside each one. Proposed

Work with us

Help turn one powerful encounter into a world, a research instrument, and a sustainable practice.

  • A professor
  • A botanical institution
  • A graphics collaborator
  • A rights engineer
  • A school
  • A sponsor

Each role starts with one bounded collaboration and a concrete result.

The builder is not raising investment now.

On this page, each feature carries one label: Decided, Built, Proposed or Open.