ChatterPlant: the Secret Life of UPV

As a teacher and parent I often feel that I’m talking to the wall. Now somebody has invented the next best thing. With ChatterPlant you can talk to a tulip, speak to saffron, chat with a chrysanthemum, argue with an ash tree, dispute with a dahlia, natter with a nasturtium or blabber with a blackberry (Oh wait; people already do that!)

A team at the Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV ) are travelling to Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Boston.to present a machine that can talk to the trees and plants, as part of their participation in a contest,  iGEM 2017.

The project is called ChatterPlant and the three plant-friendly students are the only Spanish representatives in a competition in which UPV obtained three awards the previous year.

Unfortunately the plants seem to be whingers and mostly want to talk about their illnesses and needs; pretty much like children and students in fact.

On a serious note, the Project aims to ensure season-less, accessible and local food production by promoting sustainable agriculture.

ChatterPlant is a SynBio-based solution that works as plant-human interface allowing a bidirectional communication.