Can Plants Perceive Human Gestures? Using AI to Track Eurythmic Human–Plant Interaction
Name
biomimetics-09-00290-v2.pdf
Size
7.21 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
9a65beee67a53e347d90bbdce72395d3
Author(s)
Gil, Alvaro Francisco
Weinbeer, Moritz
Gloor, Peter A.
Date Issued
May 12, 2024
Journal
Biomimetics
Publisher
MDPI AG
Citation
Gil, A.F.; Weinbeer, M.; Gloor, P.A. Can Plants Perceive Human Gestures? Using AI to Track Eurythmic Human–Plant Interaction. Biomimetics 2024, 9, 290.
Version
Final published version
Abstract
This paper explores if plants are capable of responding to human movement by changes in their electrical signals. Toward that goal, we conducted a series of experiments, where humans over a period of 6 months were performing different types of eurythmic gestures in the proximity of garden plants, namely salad, basil, and tomatoes. To measure plant perception, we used the plant SpikerBox, which is a device that measures changes in the voltage differentials of plants between roots and leaves. Using machine learning, we found that the voltage differentials over time of the plant predict if (a) eurythmy has been performed, and (b) which kind of eurythmy gestures has been performed. We also find that the signals are different based on the species of the plant. In other words, the perception of a salad, tomato, or basil might differ just as perception of different species of animals differ. This opens new ways of studying plant ecosystems while also paving the way to use plants as biosensors for analyzing human movement.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Center for Collective Intelligence
Terms of Use
Creative Commons Attribution
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DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.3390/biomimetics9050290
