Plants

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Stories about Plants

A robo-vegetal hybrid society is rising

Plants can grow elaborate shapes for public spaces through a network of sensors and 3D-printed robotic nodes

Improving the imperfect: photosynthesis for the future

Engineering novel pathways to potentially boost plant yield nets finalist place in the EU Innovation Radar Prize

Research projects about Plants

FutureAgriculture

The FutureAgriculture projects aims at designing a synthetic enzyme to improve natural photorespiration in plants. This is pursued by combining disparate lines of investigation such as computational biology, microbiology and plant physiology. If successful, the project may significantly improve agricultural productivity and help feed billions of people worldwide.

flora robotica

The flora robotica project targets to develop and investigate closely linked symbiotic relationships between robots and natural plants and to explore the potentials of a plant-robot society able to produce architectural artifacts (e.g., walls, roofs, benches) and living spaces, providing functionality such as shade, air quality control, and stress relief. The project assembles a highly cross disciplinary team drawn from the fields of Computer Science, Robotics, Molecular and Cellular Biology, Zoology, Advanced Mechatronics & Environmental Sensing and Architecture.

PLANTOID

The PLANTOID project designed and developed a number of innovative robots and ICT technologies directly inspired by the roots of plants. These robotic roots are equipped with sensors monitoring the environment and giving inputs to let them decide how to move into the soil. This technology may find applications in soil analysis, agriculture, medicine and space exploration.

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