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WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF

Robotic plants could help find mines and pollutants buried in soil, or be used to explore alien planets for signs of organic material.

 

Plants are getting a lot of attention all of a sudden, whether it’s from researchers who are trying to turn them into surveillance devices and discovering they learn like dogs, or other researchers turning them into bioluminescent lights or mini renewable power plants. No pun intended. Now though a group of Italian scientists have taken artificial plants to the next level and created the world’s first bionic plant. The robotic plants have roots that grow and unwind into soil just like the real thing, only they’re made up of metal and wires. The robo-plants can help scientists detect gravity, water, temperature, touch, pH, nitrate and phosphate, in environments of any kind.

 

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Headed by Barbara Mazzolai, the team at the Institute of Technology in Italy have been developing the robotic plant to mimic the functions of a single root. The robo-roots plunge into the soil using soft sensors to help guide them along their way into the ground material. Testing for rocks and impenetrable areas, the sensors pave the way for the synthetic roots to unwind to safety. The robotic roots then unfurl and extend, much like a real plant’s does, taking shape to the area around it.

 

Check it out

 

Once the system is firmly rooted, it can begin testing the soil and environment around it. The robo-plants would be ideal for testing soil in contaminated areas or disaster zones, but if further developed to become more durable it could possibly even test out soil in space. The artificial plant design could also be valuable in the medical world, in much smaller, microscopic sizes. They technology could be applied to endoscopes, that could move easily throughout the body, and bend and adapt to the environment.

 

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The adaptive quality of the robotic plants could make leaps and bounds in many fields in the scientific realm. The developers are working on studying the communication between roots underground, and hope to employ it to the robo plants.

Source: New Scientist

 

About author

Matthew Griffin

Matthew Griffin, described as “The Adviser behind the Advisers” and a “Young Kurzweil,” is the founder and CEO of the World Futures Forum and the 311 Institute, a global Futures and Deep Futures consultancy working between the dates of 2020 to 2070, and is an award winning futurist, and author of “Codex of the Future” series. Regularly featured in the global media, including AP, BBC, Bloomberg, CNBC, Discovery, RT, Viacom, and WIRED, Matthew’s ability to identify, track, and explain the impacts of hundreds of revolutionary emerging technologies on global culture, industry and society, is unparalleled. Recognised for the past six years as one of the world’s foremost futurists, innovation and strategy experts Matthew is an international speaker who helps governments, investors, multi-nationals and regulators around the world envision, build and lead an inclusive, sustainable future. A rare talent Matthew’s recent work includes mentoring Lunar XPrize teams, re-envisioning global education and training with the G20, and helping the world’s largest organisations envision and ideate the future of their products and services, industries, and countries. Matthew's clients include three Prime Ministers and several governments, including the G7, Accenture, Aon, Bain & Co, BCG, Credit Suisse, Dell EMC, Dentons, Deloitte, E&Y, GEMS, Huawei, JPMorgan Chase, KPMG, Lego, McKinsey, PWC, Qualcomm, SAP, Samsung, Sopra Steria, T-Mobile, and many more.

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