Cyborg Plant Uses Robotic Augmentation to Reach the Light

A cyborg, or cybernetic organism, is a biological entity that has been outfitted with electronic or mechanical augmentations. In popular culture, cyborgs are usually humans with robotic enhancements. But, as it turns out, a plant called Elowan has beat us to the punch.

Elowan was created by researchers at the MIT Media Lab, and it was built to take advantage of the fact that plants become bio-electrochemically excited by external stimuli. They respond to an external stimulus, like a change in gravity, temperature, mechanical stimulation, and especially light, by sending electrical signals between tissues and organs.

That process is how plants are able to grow towards the light. They have an innate biological mechanism that directs them to gather the most sunlight, and therefore draw in the most energy through photosynthesis. Elowan does exactly the same thing, but with a little help from a mobile robotic platform that it uses to drive towards a light source.

To be absolutely clear, that robotic base doesn’t have any light sensors of its own. Instead, it has a symbiotic relationship with the plant and only moves where the plant “tells” it to. That communication is handled by electrodes placed on relevant parts of the plant’s anatomy, such as the stems and leafs.

When a light source is nearby, the plant recognizes it and sends electrical signals within its system. The electrodes pick up and amplify those signals, which direct the robot platform to the light source. It may seem like science fiction, but the plant is able to actually drive itself towards a nourishing light source.