BAHIATREK

Salvador, Bahia State | SuperpowEARTH

Nati

High-Level Project Summary

Our project is a super hero that represents the planet earth and its different cycles, for example: the transformation of matter and the seasons. These are ways that our planet has found to achieve ecological balance in its natural system. Let's represent the super carbon cycle as its superpower of transforming CO2 molecules into O2 and creating different organic beings. Thus, it is important to emphasize the educational character of the mascot, showing the changes caused in nature by human actions and in some cases in an unbalanced way.

Link to Project "Demo"

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1JSWpSXpoN4N4msODOTRZQvP94vFFarPr/view?usp=sharing

Link to Final Project

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Dv3xLO5clOOh8xJeQDfWpB1ylnd5Q41F/view?usp=sharing

Detailed Project Description

We have built a mascot from research on topics that represent the cyclical phases of the planet or anything that could represent a decomposition or transformation of natural elements. We decided for a representation close to the human as it would facilitate a greater identification of people with the environmental issues that we want to draw attention to.

Looking at the images provided by NASA's repository, which represent climate change, we could consider these images as a way to draw people's attention to the great changes that are taking place. and for the fact that some governments try to deny, for reasons of favoring small privileged groups, mainly in developing countries.

We chose to represent the mascot with various colors and shapes to address issues related to diversity, gender and race. We thought about its application by converting abstract concepts, into animations, videos and educational presentations showing the impact of human actions on the environment, and the mascot using its superpowers to demonstrate how we could transform this reality into something that is more sustainable for the environment and the society.

The name chosen for the character: NATI

Gaia's call: let's work for a more inclusive, cooperative and welcoming world.

Power: super regenerating nature through the elimination of environmental pollution. transformation of carbon molecules from earth pollution into O2 and the creation of organic beings.

Key to further invoke the regeneration power of gaia: the work of collaborative environmental education and the development of sustainable products.

Gaia's enemies: products and habits that are not healthy, ecological or sustainable.

The name Nati is a reference to the word natureza (Portuguese), nature (English) and natura (Latin), in a synthesis of the initial syllables, changing the letter “U” for the letter “I”.

The mascot takes the female form because Gaia (Goddess of the Earth and mother of all living beings) is commonly represented as Mother Nature. And also it was named by the English scientist James Lovelock in the so-called Gaia Hypothesis. Anyway, we intend to raise a reflection about the impacts of human activities on the delicate ecological balance of planet Earth.

It is important to emphasize that the character, even being represented with a super power to regenerate the planet's resources, should not be placed as the only savior of humanity, as it stimulates an endless cycle of bad habits established by the consumer society.

In this way, it is important to emphasize the educational character of the mascot, showing the negative impacts caused by human actions, because "the costs of this excess are becoming increasingly evident throughout the world, in the form of deforestation , soil erosion, loss of biodiversity and accumulation of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, leading to climate change and increasingly severe droughts, fires and hurricanes" (g1, Natureza, 2019).

Character Description:

Its representation will be done in 4 phases, as a symbology of the 4 seasons of the year or the movement of the planet around the Sun.

The four seasons: Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter

Related audio: THE FOUR SEASONS - Antonio Vivaldi

Spring symbolically represents the season of generation, re-flowering and the increase in temperature after winter, being characterized by more vivid and warmer colors.

Summer represents the season of intense activity of sunlight on land, it is characterized by high temperatures and days longer than nights.

Autumn is a transition period where temperatures start to drop and usually the leaves of the trees have reddish tones. The character is represented with earthy colors and lines that refer to the soil layers.

Winter arrives when the lowest temperatures start to appear and the nights are longer than the days. Nati is depicted with cool colors and drawings of seas, glaciers and icy mountains.

Space Agency Data

we use the references provided by NASA. And we also conduct research about global warming, pollution and the carbon cycle on other sources.

We have divided the tasks according to the area of expertise of each component of the team. We first developed the concept of the mascot, according to NASA's briefing, and based on this abstract conceptual basis, the character was designed with its symbolic characteristics. The most complex task was to determine the superpowers and align them with real world references, adapting them to a more objective form of expression to facilitate the understanding of the character and his performance from the very first contact of the observer.

Hackathon Journey

The app provided us with important video and image information regarding the theme and the projects of other event participants providing us with inspiration for the current project.

The challenge was chosen due to the affinity of the participants with the creative area.

This experience allowed us to have a broader knowledge of environmental issues, especially related to the carbon footprint.

This approach followed the techniques and methods used for character creation, from the translation of the concept, to the development of its symbology in drawing.

The team worked in a cohesive way, as each component worked according to their abilities and naturally fulfilling the project's needs.

I would like to thank Mariana Lemos for coordinating the event at Senac-BA, and Leka Hattori for coordinating the NASA Space Apps Challenge event in Bahia, and all colleagues who gave us great support at all times during the hackathon.