Fake Plants for Your Garden Edit
CNU’s Oxygen Emitting Robotic Plants

A new robotic plant has been created at a robot research laboratory at Chonnam National University. Plants that are usually grown for decorative purposes served as the model for the robotic plant placed in a pot which has a stem and five buds of flower resembling a rose of Sharon. And just like its biological equivalent, the robotic plant is able to produce and emit oxygen, aroma and has humidifying functions.

As for its robotic features, the plant has a supersonic sensor which enables it to react to a variety of stimuli. One is if a person comes near within the 40 cm radius, the buds bloom and the stem bends in the direction of the person. The plant then gets back to its original form when the person leaves. The flower buds come into full bloom too when a person’s voice becomes louder than a specific level and as it blooms, it responds with a greeting by shaking its stem. The buds open and close when the lights are turned on and when music is played, it dances.

If you are still not satisfied, designers say that a robot garden can be made. You just need to have several robotic plants that are networked together in a system. Now, can you handle all that?

According to Park Jong-Oh, the project leader, “American universities and Japanese manufacturers have produced toy-like robot plants, but ours has various new kinetic and electronic functions. It’s a fresh attempt to introduce the concept of plants, rather than humans or animals, to robot making.