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How Does Your Poinsettia Feel About Christmas - New Research Into Sensor Technology

SAC News Release Ref. No: 09N84
Published: 17 Dec 2009

Talking to plants can calm us down, but how do the plants feel?

In the build up to Christmas, researchers at SAC and the University of Edinburgh have been “listening” to poinsettia plants to find out.  Popular for the festive red bracts that make them so suitable for Christmas, the poinsettias studied are from the Pentland Plants Nursery.
 
According to SAC Plant Pathologist Simon Oxley, what is making the monitoring possible is new “speckled” computing technology.  A range of special sensors called specks, attached to the plant, relay information wirelessly back to the laboratory.

"We can check the temperature, light levels, moisture and nutrients around the plant along with the compost to make sure everything is perfect for the plant to grow.  With readings every minute, we can keep a close eye to make sure the plants are kept in perfect condition ready for Christmas."

The project has been developed by SAC, the School of Informatics at the University of Edinburgh and Pentland Plants Nursery.  Pentland Plants sees the potential for the speckled technology in the extra attention to detail it could bring to raising plants. The speck devices and programmes will help growers link into automatic glasshouse environment systems, giving even greater control and, potentially, savings in light and energy.

“Poinsettias represent a big investment in time and expertise,” says Jean Repecka, Technical Manager with Pentland Plants.  “The new technology offers the prospect of better control over inputs and a deeper understanding of how the plants are thriving. That could mean even better quality for our customers.”

At the other end of the scale, speckled computing should provide assistance in retail areas of garden centres and in polytunnels, where no sophisticated environmental control systems exist. The system learns about the daily pattern of temperatures, light and watering, so if something is missed and the plants are not fed or watered, a warning is sent to the grower.

According to University of Edinburgh computer scientist DK Arvind, Director of the Speckled Computing Consortium which developed the technology.

“It is gratifying to see the outcome of our basic research in speckled computing now enabling precision horticulture with the potential for saving energy.  Specks are finding applications in a variety of other areas such as monitoring the natural environment, and optimising energy usage in buildings.”

The project is supported by SAC New Technology Fund. Research Consortium in Speckled Computing is funded by the Scottish Funding Council and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council to develop miniature computing devices called specks which combine sensing, processing and wireless networking capabilities.

For more information, contact Dr Simon Oxley, DK Arvind, University of Edinburgh +44 (0)781 765 4055; dka@inf.ed.ac.uk or Pentland Plants +44 (0) 131 440 3455.

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News Release Issued By

Mr Ken Rundle
Senior Communications Officer
SAC (Scottish Agricultural College) Work SAC, King's Buildings, West Mains Road,
Edinburgh
EH9 3JG
TelWork 0131 535 4196

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