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MIT researchers create a robot houseplant that moves on its own
Meet Elowan, a "cybernetic lifeform" that connects a houseplant with a machine that responds to its basic need for light (and is presumably named after the sentient plant creatures in Starflight 3). When a regular plant needs light, it fires off internal electrical signals that cause it to bend and grow towards it. When Elowan needs light, these internal electrical signals are interpreted by a machine that then simply wheels the plant towards the light. The plant can essentially move itself around because it needs to.
"Plants have natural bioelectrochemical signals inside them," explains Harpeet Sareen, assistant professor at Parsons School of Design. "They get excited in response to environmental conditions and conduct these signals between tissues and organs. Such electrical signals are produced in response to changes in light, gravity, mechanical stimulation, temperature, wounding, and more. They are electrically active systems readily occurring in nature."
Add self-watering and we're good to go.
(Score: 2) by darkfeline on Friday December 07 2018, @08:54PM (1 child)
To play devil's advocate, the sensible vegetarian/vegan objection toward meat is that animals are treated very inhumanely. Such a person wouldn't be opposed to meat that was obtained in a relatively humane manner, like the Hitchhiker cow perhaps.
Then there are religious vegetarians which, hey, whatever floats your boat as long as you don't try to jam it down my throat.
Join the SDF Public Access UNIX System today!
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday December 08 2018, @06:40AM
How do you feel about the halal certification tax?