Scientists Develop Electrodes That Can Be Attached To Plants To Make Venus Fly Traps Close On Demand-Scientific Exploration-cnBeta.COM

According to foreign media reports, plants are complex organisms that use electrical signals to perceive and respond to the surrounding environment. We have seen imaginative scientists use these capabilities to create robotic plants that can steer in the direction of light or act as environmental biosensors.The latest research from Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University (NTU) shows that they can even be used to pick up fragile objects, and there are other interesting possibilities.

Although it is well known that plants, like many living organisms, send electrical signals to external stimuli, these electrical signals are very weak. The NTU team was inspired by the electrocardiogram (ECG) to monitor heart health through human electrical activity and thus found a way to read these electrical signals loud and clear.

To adapt this technology to plants, the researchers developed a shaped electrode material and combined it with a viscous hydrogel that transforms from a liquid to an elastic gel at room temperature. This allows the electrodes to adhere to a wide range of plants and even react to the environment as they grow and move. Here, as a communication device, it provides a clear reading of the electrical signals emitted by the plants.

“Climate change is threatening global food security,” said Chen Xiaodong, lead author of the study. “By monitoring the electrical signals of plants, we can detect possible distress signals and abnormal conditions. When used for agricultural purposes, farmers can find that the disease is in progress, even before full symptoms appear in the crop, such as the yellow leaves. This can give us the opportunity to act quickly to maximize the yield of people’s crops. “

这个装置的直径只有3毫米，重要的是，不会影响植物进行光合作用。在最初的一项实验中，该团队采用了该技术的早期版本，并将其植入捕蝇草上。然后，该团队使用智能手机，以特定的频率向该设备发送电脉冲，促使捕蝇草按要求闭合其叶片。

在另一轮实验中，该团队将一个机械臂连接到捕蝇草上。他们重复这一过程，并以特定的频率从智能手机上发出脉冲电信号，使捕蝇草闭合，在此过程中夹住一根细线。

Through these experiments, the team not only demonstrated how their communication devices can be used to monitor how plants respond to the surrounding environment, but they are actually used as sensitive robotic grippers for fragile objects. The team is now exploring other ways to use these features.

The scientists published their research in two studies, one in the journal Nature Electronics and the other in the journal Advanced Materials.