We already knew that underneath the apparent passivity of plants lie not only amazing communication strategies, but also a complex social network! But now the pots are communicating too! Biom, c's'calls, is a connected pot capable of providing information on the basic but vital needs of the plant: temperature, humidity, fertilizer and UV exposure. It allows at a glance to see directly, with the help of a diode, the state of our plants..
While some plants are capable of "crying out for help", such as the lima bean, when attacked by pests, they are also capable of altruism by emitting a chemical signal when attacked by an insect, thus allowing them to warn their neighbours.
All this is nothing new because as early as the 1900s, the Indian biologist Chandra Bose showed the existence of electrical signals in plants. He measured a response analogous to the action potential of a neuron after stimulation of a sensitive leaf (a small tropical plant that folds its leaves in a few seconds when touched).
We therefore know from the work of researcher Bruno Moulia that plants communicate well with each other. All they need now is the ability to speak!
C'is practically acquired as the French startup Still Human Robotics has just designed Biom, the pot that will inform the budding gardener about the water, fertilizer and light needs of the plant thanks to sensors and a light-emitting diode. Explanations.
Biom: to recreate a happy urban ecosystem
The name Biom comes from Biomedefined by Victor Ernest Shelford as an ecological macroecosystem characterized by species or vegetation living in a specific climate, interaction between soils, plants and animals.
Thanks to its diode, d'or its nickname "pot cyborg", Biom is programmed by smartphone for four types of notifications: for a lack of d'humidity, the diode s'lights up blue; for a temperature problem, it turns red; for the lack of d'fertilizer, green; and yellow for the lack of sunlight.
A well studied design completes by a small trick this pot so that it can be positioned on a window railing or a balcony railing.
How does it work?
The way the service is rendered is simple: place the pile, set up the plant, place the pot on the railing or on a table. Then download the application to your smartphone to create the plant profile. This can also be done from the website. A database makes it possible to find the plant that is installed in the Biom pot. There is only #39 to connect the pot to the Wi-Fi network.
Biom is available for pre-order for 40€ on the site Kickstarter. With a market launch in May 2016, but at a price of 50 €.
