As we know plants, have a life, and they breathe as we breathe. A whole amount of oxygen is generated by plants and hence they are the most useful resource present in our environment. Every day some new technologies are coming up and we are relying on them due to technology being time-efficient. After all, the work which is not done by a human being can now be done with the help of automated machines. Researchers kept these things in mind and developed a device that can deliver electrical signals to and from plants and these signals can be decoded. It has now opened a new door to technologies and with these positive outcomes; we might be able to know what plants are trying to say. This device was developed by a scientist led by Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU). The NTU team developed this system of the plant communication device by applying some practical ideas and they attached a conformable electrode which is a piece of conductive material.
This whole system was installed at the surface of a Venus flytrap plant with the help of a soft and sticky adhesive popularly known as hydrogel. The technique is very much effective because, with the help of an electrode attached to the surface of the flytrap, two things can be easily achieved without any external effect on it. First, researchers might be able to monitor and pick up the electrical signals to know that how the plants are responding to their environment. Secondly, how it can transmit electric signals to the plant to close its leaves at the time of interruption from outside.
It has been known for decades that plants emit an electrical signal and with these signals, they can sense, if they are going to be attacked or not by some outside force. They sense and are highly responsive to the environment because of the above-mentioned reason. The NTU team research is delighted, as this device can bring great opportunities for a range of useful applications and since nature is burning down we can protect it because of plant-based robots that can be held to pick up fragile objects or to help enhance food security by detecting disease in crops early.
