Remote-controlled Venus flytrap “robo-plants” and crops that tell farmers when they are hit by disease could become reality after scientists developed a high-tech system for communicating with vegetation.
Researchers in Singapore linked up plants to electrodes capable of monitoring the weak electrical pulses naturally emitted by the greenery.
The scientists used the technology to trigger a Venus flytrap to snap its jaws shut at the push of a button on a smartphone app.
Photo: AFP
They then attached one of its jaws to a robotic arm and got the contraption to pick up a piece of wire half a millimeter thick, and catch a small falling object.
The technology is in its early stages, but researchers believe it could eventually be used to build advanced “plant-based robots” that can pick up a host of fragile objects which are too delicate for rigid, robotic arms.
“These kinds of nature robots can be interfaced with other artificial robots [to make] hybrid systems,” Chen Xiaodong (陳曉東), the lead author of a study on the research at Nanyang Technological University, told reporters.
There are still challenges to be overcome. Scientists can stimulate the flytrap’s jaws to slam shut, but cannot yet reopen them — a process that takes 10 or more hours to happen naturally.
The system can also pick up signals emitted by plants, raising the possibility that farmers would be able to detect problems with their crops at an early stage.
“By monitoring the plants’ electrical signals, we may be able to detect possible distress signals and abnormalities,” Chen said. “Farmers may find out when a disease is in progress, even before full-blown symptoms appear on the crops.”
Researchers believe such technology could be particularly useful as crops face increasing threats from climate change. Scientists have long known that plants emit very weak electrical signals, but their uneven and waxy surfaces makes it difficult to effectively mount sensors.
The researchers developed film-like, soft electrodes that fit tightly to the plant’s surface and can detect signals more accurately. They are attached using a “thermogel,” which is liquid at low temperatures but turns into a gel at room temperature.
They are the latest to conduct research communicating with plants.
In 2016, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology team turned spinach leaves into sensors that can send an e-mail alert to scientists when they detect explosive materials in groundwater.
The team embedded carbon nanotubes that emit a signal when plant roots detect nitroaromatics — compounds often found in explosives. The signal is then read by an infrared camera that sends out a message to the scientists.
Trinidad and Tobago declared a new state of emergency on Friday after authorities accused a criminal network operating in prisons across the country of plotting to kill key government officials and attack public institutions. It is the second state of emergency to be declared in the twin-island republic in a matter of months. In December last year, authorities took similar action, citing concerns about gang violence. That state of emergency lasted until mid-April. Police said that smuggled cellphones enabled those involved in the plot to exchange encrypted messages. Months of intelligence gathering led investigators to believe the targets included senior police officers,
FOREST SITE: A rescue helicopter spotted the burning fuselage of the plane in a forested area, with rescue personnel saying they saw no evidence of survivors A passenger plane carrying nearly 50 people crashed yesterday in a remote spot in Russia’s far eastern region of Amur, with no immediate signs of survivors, authorities said. The aircraft, a twin-propeller Antonov-24 operated by Angara Airlines, was headed to the town of Tynda from the city of Blagoveshchensk when it disappeared from radar at about 1pm. A rescue helicopter later spotted the burning fuselage of the plane on a forested mountain slope about 16km from Tynda. Videos published by Russian investigators showed what appeared to be columns of smoke billowing from the wreckage of the plane in a dense, forested area. Rescuers in
A disillusioned Japanese electorate feeling the economic pinch goes to the polls today, as a right-wing party promoting a “Japanese first” agenda gains popularity, with fears over foreigners becoming a major election issue. Birthed on YouTube during the COVID-19 pandemic, spreading conspiracy theories about vaccinations and a cabal of global elites, the Sanseito Party has widened its appeal ahead of today’s upper house vote — railing against immigration and dragging rhetoric that was once confined to Japan’s political fringes into the mainstream. Polls show the party might only secure 10 to 15 of the 125 seats up for grabs, but it is
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr is to meet US President Donald Trump this week, hoping Manila’s status as a key Asian ally would secure a more favorable trade deal before the deadline on Friday next week. Marcos would be the first Southeast Asian leader to meet Trump in his second term. Trump has already struck trade deals with two of Manila’s regional partners, Vietnam and Indonesia, driving tough bargains in trade talks even with close allies that Washington needs to keep onside in its strategic rivalry with China. “I expect our discussions to focus on security and defense, of course, but also