Rise of the ‘robo-plants’, as scientists fuse nature with tech

Robotics
Tuesday, 06 Apr 2021
12:30 PM MYT

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A PhD student at NTU’s School of Materials Science and Engineering attaching an electrode on the surface of a Venus flytrap plant at a laboratory in Singapore, as scientists develop a high-tech system for communicating with vegetation. — AFP

SINGAPORE: 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.

A PhD student at NTU’s School of Materials Science and Engineering attaching an electrode on the surface of a Venus flytrap plant at a laboratory in Singapore, as scientists develop a high-tech system for communicating with vegetation. — AFP

A PhD student at NTU’s School of Materials Science and Engineering testing an electrode on the surface of a Venus flytrap plant at a laboratory in Singapore. — AFP

An electrode is attached to the surface of a Venus flytrap plant at a laboratory in Singapore. Researchers believe the technology 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. — AFP

NTU researchers developed film-like, soft electrodes that fit tightly to the plant’s surface and can detect signals more accurately. The system can also pick up signals emitted by plants, raising the possibility that farmers will be able to detect problems with their crops at an early stage. — AFP

A PhD student at NTU’s School of Materials Science and Engineering attaching an electrode on the surface of a Venus flytrap plant at a laboratory in Singapore. — AFP

An electrode to be attached on the surface of a Venus flytrap plant is picked up at a laboratory in Singapore. The NTU researchers developed film-like, soft electrodes that fit tightly to the plant’s surface and can detect signals more accurately. — AFP

An electrode is attached on the surface of a tobacco plant at a laboratory in Singapore. Researchers believe such technology could be particularly useful as crops face increasing threats from climate change. — AFP

A PhD student at NTU’s School of Materials Science and Engineering monitoring an application on the computer during a test of an electrode attached on the surface of a tobacco plant at a laboratory in Singapore. — AFP

Researchers in Singapore linked up plants to electrodes capable of monitoring the weak electrical pulses naturally emitted by the greenery. — AFP

Electrodes attached on the surface of a tobacco plant are tested at a laboratory in Singapore. — AFP

A dead fly is trapped inside a Venus flytrap plant, used to test an electrode attached on the surface of the plant at a laboratory in Singapore. 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. — AFP

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Science & Technology Singapore Robotics Agriculture

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Rise of the ‘robo-plants’, as scientists fuse nature with tech

A PhD student at NTU’s School of Materials Science and Engineering attaching an electrode on the surface of a Venus flytrap plant at a laboratory in Singapore, as scientists develop a high-tech system for communicating with vegetation. — AFP

A PhD student at NTU’s School of Materials Science and Engineering testing an electrode on the surface of a Venus flytrap plant at a laboratory in Singapore. — AFP

An electrode is attached to the surface of a Venus flytrap plant at a laboratory in Singapore. Researchers believe the technology 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. — AFP

A PhD student at NTU’s School of Materials Science and Engineering attaching an electrode on the surface of a Venus flytrap plant at a laboratory in Singapore. — AFP

An electrode to be attached on the surface of a Venus flytrap plant is picked up at a laboratory in Singapore. The NTU researchers developed film-like, soft electrodes that fit tightly to the plant’s surface and can detect signals more accurately. — AFP

An electrode is attached on the surface of a tobacco plant at a laboratory in Singapore. Researchers believe such technology could be particularly useful as crops face increasing threats from climate change. — AFP

A PhD student at NTU’s School of Materials Science and Engineering monitoring an application on the computer during a test of an electrode attached on the surface of a tobacco plant at a laboratory in Singapore. — AFP

Researchers in Singapore linked up plants to electrodes capable of monitoring the weak electrical pulses naturally emitted by the greenery. — AFP

Electrodes attached on the surface of a tobacco plant are tested at a laboratory in Singapore. — AFP

A dead fly is trapped inside a Venus flytrap plant, used to test an electrode attached on the surface of the plant at a laboratory in Singapore. 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. — AFP

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A PhD student at NTU’s School of Materials Science and Engineering attaching an electrode on the surface of a Venus flytrap plant at a laboratory in Singapore, as scientists develop a high-tech system for communicating with vegetation. — AFP

A PhD student at NTU’s School of Materials Science and Engineering testing an electrode on the surface of a Venus flytrap plant at a laboratory in Singapore. — AFP

An electrode is attached to the surface of a Venus flytrap plant at a laboratory in Singapore. Researchers believe the technology 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. — AFP

A PhD student at NTU’s School of Materials Science and Engineering attaching an electrode on the surface of a Venus flytrap plant at a laboratory in Singapore. — AFP

An electrode to be attached on the surface of a Venus flytrap plant is picked up at a laboratory in Singapore. The NTU researchers developed film-like, soft electrodes that fit tightly to the plant’s surface and can detect signals more accurately. — AFP

An electrode is attached on the surface of a tobacco plant at a laboratory in Singapore. Researchers believe such technology could be particularly useful as crops face increasing threats from climate change. — AFP

A PhD student at NTU’s School of Materials Science and Engineering monitoring an application on the computer during a test of an electrode attached on the surface of a tobacco plant at a laboratory in Singapore. — AFP

Researchers in Singapore linked up plants to electrodes capable of monitoring the weak electrical pulses naturally emitted by the greenery. — AFP

Electrodes attached on the surface of a tobacco plant are tested at a laboratory in Singapore. — AFP

A dead fly is trapped inside a Venus flytrap plant, used to test an electrode attached on the surface of the plant at a laboratory in Singapore. 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. — AFP

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