sapsap

Inspiration

The "quantified self" movement has completely transformed how we track our own bodies, but it has left us disconnected from the environment we inhabit. Imagine walking through an outdoor park or sitting quietly in your living room and finally hearing the life around you. We were inspired by the rising rates of sensory overload and digital fatigue in modern life. We wanted to design a tool for self-relaxation that shifts our focus outward, fostering a deep, empathetic awareness between people and the living ecosystem right in front of them, whether they are indoors at a desk or outdoors in nature.

What it does

sapsap is a system that translates the invisible bio-electrical pulses of both indoor houseplants and outdoor flora into real-time ambient music. The system captures micro-variations in electrical resistance caused by the plant's soil moisture, temperature and soil pH.

This biological data is then turned into generative music that never repeats. Rather than just tracking data, sapsap acts as a live meditation aid for self-guided relaxation. It provides a localized natural soundscape to help the user sustain attention, recover from cognitive fatigue, and build environmental awareness by learning how to care for the plants they interact with.

How we built it

We grounded our concept in emerging science: modern research shows that wearable sensors can now monitor plant signals in real time (Yan et al., 2025), and algorithms can translate this into generative music (Zon, 2024). We designed the user experience entirely in Figma and FigmaMake, mapping out seamless user flows that adapt to different contexts,from quickly scanning a desk fern for a quick indoor study break, to exploring the complex soundscapes of an outdoor urban forest.

Challenges we ran into

Our biggest challenge was preventing sensory overload across different environments. If a user could hear every plant, a walk outside or a trip to an indoor greenhouse would become chaotic rather than calming. To solve this, we designed a proximity-based interaction model, the system only activates when the user intentionally brings their device within a distance of a plant.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We are incredibly proud of designing an interface that encourages users to look away from their screens to achieve self-relaxation. By relying on audio and subtle haptics as the primary feedback loops, the technology simply facilitates a moment of mindfulness. Whether the user is indoors trying to decompress after a long day or outdoors connecting with nature, we successfully merged scientific research, showing that nature sounds lead to faster stress recovery.

What we learned

We learned how challenging and rewarding it is to design for a sense that doesn't fully exist yet. We discovered that designing for emotional well-being and self-relaxation requires extreme restraint, and allowing the audio to do the heavy lifting. We also learned how to balance personal well-being with community and social connection.