PLANTS
The PLANTS project is an EU-funded Fifth Framework Programme Research and Development project that combines microelectronics, software, telecommunications and plant science research.
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The project builds on the concept of "hidden computers". Specific sensors, such as for touch, are integrated within an object or ‘artefact’ with localised computation and communication components. These artefacts are thus capable of sensing their environment, communicating with each other or otherwise acting upon the environment. They can be created to respond to our requirements, sometimes acting in an intelligent way (known as "ambient intelligence"). As a simple example, consider an "intelligent building" that senses which room you walk in; lights are turned on as you enter and telephone calls are forwarded to the area in which you are present. The PLANTS project extends this vision further and into the natural world: it will be the first time that ambient intelligence technology will be used to encompass plant requirements, via establishing three-way interaction between plants, people and objects. Minute sensors will become integral within the plant; these biosensors will be engineered to detect a range of plant responses, including the release of gaseous chemicals from the plant surface associated with insect attack, disease and physical stress such as extreme temperatures. The sensor readings will be processed with special software into meaningful data chunks, and subsequently transmitted, via a wireless communication link, to a technological platform. Management of agricultural inputs will be decided according to the accumulated transmitted information that will ultimately be fed back to effectors that will be designed to maintain conditions optimal for plant growth. Alternatively, the plant generated data could be transmitted to nearby objects, enabling the plant to directly affect its immediate environment.
