Ring! It’s Your Plants Calling
Talking to plants will make them healthier, so the belief says. But what if they can also talk back and say what they need and express their gratitude? I mean not literarily but through a ring in your phone! That would be interesting, and oh.. odd!
Botanicalls.com has merged plant care with telecommunications, through it new system where your plants can call you on the phone when they need water, when they haven’t gotten enough, and to thank you when they’re no longer thirsty.
How does it work?
Each plant on the Botanicalls system is equipped with sensors connected to an Arduino microcontroller which contains code particular to that plant type. When a plant’s microcontroller determines that the plant needs to make a phone call based on current sensor information, it sends data through an Xbee wireless radio to an Xport gateway. This gateway connects to the internet, where it contacts a PHP script with the plant’s ID number and type of need. PHP then packages this information and passes it on to Asterisk, an open-source telephone system, which generates the call. When the call is placed, a prerecorded audio file is played, expressing the particular desire of that plant.
A schematic diagram is provided at their website to understand the mechanics behind this innovative system.
According to the researchers, the project is meant to educate people about the habits and needs of plants so that owners might better understand how to care for them.
Wow, and that’s achieved with out nerons?! Intriguing indeed
You have a very cool blog with lots of useful, interesting info.
Please visit my blog for money-making tips. Thanks!
I’m not sure how useful this technology would be but in a nursery I they could find a way to use it.