The Encoder
The encoder is a wearable symbiotic device. Its core is a petri dish with growing mycelial intelligence, surrounding which are three key electronic components: indicator, fan, and pheromone sensor. These components work together, sensing the user's interspecies interactions for the mycelium to access more pheromones in the air. The encoder also contains contextual sensors such as GPS, clock, and temperature sensors to record more contextual information for the ecological memory.
The Revealer
The AI-driven revealer decodes ecological memory. When the user inserts the encoder into the revealer, it begins scanning the mycelial morphology and analyzing the pheromones, then interpreting the interspecies interactions associated with its timestamp, location, and environment. Using large language models, it generates poetic descriptions based on this information. The decoded morphology, pheromones inside, and descriptions are then displayed on the interface. Over time, the mycelial intelligence learns the user’s ecological character, producing increasingly specialized ecological memory content.
The Mycelium
In the experiment, the fungal species Neurospora crassa is selected for its distinct morphological response to pheromones and its stable, consistent growth pattern, which enables precise temporal alignment.
