Air Bonsai - a soaring tree
Welcome to our readers on the iCover Blog Pages ! Some technological innovations come and go, failing to attract our attention, others, on the contrary, are bright and unexpected, are remembered instantly and delayed for years. Perhaps this event was destined to become the extraordinary Japanese startup “Air Bonsai” Masanori Imayoshi and Hikaru Hoshi, who combined in his conception the philosophy of ancient Japanese art Bonsai and the capabilities of the most modern technologies.
The Air Bonsai kit includes two main interconnected elements - a decorative platform with a powerful magnet and a special “sphere” made of moss or volcanic rock, also complete with a magnet to provide the levitation effect. In action, the upper part of the composition with Bonsai floating in the air is approximately 2 cm from the top of the fixed lower platform and rotates progressively, or alternately changing the direction of rotation around the central axis.
Air Bonsai's basic equipment includes a china base (energy base) with magnet, AC adapter, and a top independent hollow part (little star) made of compacted moss. It contains a nutrient medium for the development of the Bonsai root system, a sponge for absorbing water and a magnet. All porcelain items are handmade. Moreover, the full production cycle, according to Imaeci, takes almost 3 months.
An alternative is a platform made of light solidified volcanic rock of the local Sakurajima volcano (“little star” Lava).
There are 4 options for designing the lower platform and 2 options for the upper part (a vessel made of volcanic rock or compacted moss). The dimensions and shape of the platform are selected taking into account the peculiarities of the development of the root system of a particular plant. The final cost of the Air Bonsai kit is determined by the size of the composition, the materials used, the type and age of the plant or miniature tree.
Since both the import and export of certain groups of plants from Japan is accompanied by rather stringent control procedures and certification requirements, Imaechi proposed several alternative solutions to this issue. Buyers from the USA will be delivered by regional partners living in the country and having established relations with manufacturers of Bonsai and ornamental plants from America. Outside the United States, the delivery of finished compositions with plants or miniature trees growing in the territory of the customer’s country can be an acceptable alternative. It can be, for example, mini-spruce or other plants.
For those who wish to grow Air Bonsai from their preferred plant species on their own and are ready to provide qualified and regular care, it will be enough to order a minimum technological set ($ 200) with everything necessary for the realization of the most daring and creative ideas.
Can the proposed technical solution be called innovative? Of course no. The principles of magnetic levitation have been known and used for a long time in a wide variety of applied fields of knowledge. But the idea of combining them with an organic object at the level of the original design composition is perceived freshly and promisingly, although the prices in the upper segment of the offer, frankly, are slightly shocking.
Masanori plans to launch the first deliveries of Air Bonsai in August 2016. It is problematic to unequivocally assess the likelihood of a successful implementation of this project, as well as any startup promoted through any crowdfunding platform. Nevertheless, one cannot but admit: the project is doing well so far. To date, almost $ 0.5 million has already been raised against the $ 80 thousand target announced at the start of the company, which means that they still found those who wanted to get such a non-standard and attractive novelty for their home greenhouse or office.
In the top-end configuration ($ 10,000), in addition to the adapter, an exclusive handmade pillow and many-year-old Bonsai, Kickstarter beckers this time promise a tour to the Land of the Rising Sun with a visit to the island of Kyushu and the workshop of Masanori Imaesi, where one-of-a-kind trees soaring into the world are born in the air.
Kickstarter
Mashable.com
Our other articles and events
The Air Bonsai kit includes two main interconnected elements - a decorative platform with a powerful magnet and a special “sphere” made of moss or volcanic rock, also complete with a magnet to provide the levitation effect. In action, the upper part of the composition with Bonsai floating in the air is approximately 2 cm from the top of the fixed lower platform and rotates progressively, or alternately changing the direction of rotation around the central axis.
Air Bonsai's basic equipment includes a china base (energy base) with magnet, AC adapter, and a top independent hollow part (little star) made of compacted moss. It contains a nutrient medium for the development of the Bonsai root system, a sponge for absorbing water and a magnet. All porcelain items are handmade. Moreover, the full production cycle, according to Imaeci, takes almost 3 months.
An alternative is a platform made of light solidified volcanic rock of the local Sakurajima volcano (“little star” Lava).
There are 4 options for designing the lower platform and 2 options for the upper part (a vessel made of volcanic rock or compacted moss). The dimensions and shape of the platform are selected taking into account the peculiarities of the development of the root system of a particular plant. The final cost of the Air Bonsai kit is determined by the size of the composition, the materials used, the type and age of the plant or miniature tree.
Since both the import and export of certain groups of plants from Japan is accompanied by rather stringent control procedures and certification requirements, Imaechi proposed several alternative solutions to this issue. Buyers from the USA will be delivered by regional partners living in the country and having established relations with manufacturers of Bonsai and ornamental plants from America. Outside the United States, the delivery of finished compositions with plants or miniature trees growing in the territory of the customer’s country can be an acceptable alternative. It can be, for example, mini-spruce or other plants.
For those who wish to grow Air Bonsai from their preferred plant species on their own and are ready to provide qualified and regular care, it will be enough to order a minimum technological set ($ 200) with everything necessary for the realization of the most daring and creative ideas.
Can the proposed technical solution be called innovative? Of course no. The principles of magnetic levitation have been known and used for a long time in a wide variety of applied fields of knowledge. But the idea of combining them with an organic object at the level of the original design composition is perceived freshly and promisingly, although the prices in the upper segment of the offer, frankly, are slightly shocking.
Masanori plans to launch the first deliveries of Air Bonsai in August 2016. It is problematic to unequivocally assess the likelihood of a successful implementation of this project, as well as any startup promoted through any crowdfunding platform. Nevertheless, one cannot but admit: the project is doing well so far. To date, almost $ 0.5 million has already been raised against the $ 80 thousand target announced at the start of the company, which means that they still found those who wanted to get such a non-standard and attractive novelty for their home greenhouse or office.
In the top-end configuration ($ 10,000), in addition to the adapter, an exclusive handmade pillow and many-year-old Bonsai, Kickstarter beckers this time promise a tour to the Land of the Rising Sun with a visit to the island of Kyushu and the workshop of Masanori Imaesi, where one-of-a-kind trees soaring into the world are born in the air.
Kickstarter
Mashable.com
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