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Flower Robots For Your Home

Posted by timothy on from the pretty-high-on-maslow's-hierarchy dept.

Roland Piquepaille writes "Flower robots are not new, and some have already been developed in the US. Now, South Korean researchers have created a robotic plant which acts like real ones. This robot has humidifying, oxygen-producing, aroma-emitting, and kinetic functions. It is about 1.30 meters tall and 40 centimeters in diameter. The robotic plant can interact with people when they approach, and it can 'dance' when music is played. The researchers don't say when a commercial version of their flowers will come to the market. They also don't mention a retail price."

7 of 119 comments (clear)

  1. First post? by iamapizza · · Score: 1, Interesting

    >The researchers don't say when a commercial version of their flowers will come to the market. They also don't mention a retail price

    So it's not really for 'your home' then, is it?

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    1. Re:First post? by g-san · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Don't you get it yet? The shopping season is all about taxes. You file your income taxes by april so the govt can count/collect it all by summer, then in winter they make up a holiday that convinces everyone to spend spend spend so they can collect tax revenues. It might be reversed for you Aussies, when do you pay taxes?

      And did you notice that every store has a frickin holiday section now, it just goes xmas to valentines to easter to mothers day to dads and grads to cheap chinese summer toys to Halloween to thanksgiving and repeat.

      And your last comment is the icing on the cake, the star on the xmas tree, the big box under the tree. You are actually feeling guilty for talking that way! You assume that everyone will negatively paint you a "Scrooge" if you don't participate in the scam. That's why it's such a great scam. And that is why even though people can't afford it and they really don't need it, they BUY it anyways, and the cycle continues.

      I hate it, but I appreciate it for its elegance.

  2. philips light blossom? by Tjeerd · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Reminds me of the new Philips Ligt Blossom flower (pictures) running on sun- and windenergy. What is it that happy flowers - or actually, nature - are inspiring those designers? I think the future might be the a mixture of technology and natural looking devices.

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    To repeat what others have said, requires education, to challenge it , requires brains.
  3. What do they run on? by pipatron · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Do they also run on water and carbon dioxide?

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  4. Re:gnaaaaaaaaargh... by $RANDOMLUSER · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I know how you feel. The conflation of South Korea, robots and flowers makes this a meme goldmine.

    In South Korea, only old people welcome their new robotic overlords.
    Where have all the robots gone? Girls have picked them every one. When will they ever learn? When will they ever learn?
    What's in a name? That which we call a robot by any other name would smell as sweet.
    Take time to smell the robots.
    A robot is a robot is a robot.
    She loves me. BZZZZT! She loves me not. HMMMMZZZ! She loves me. ZZZZ! <pop!>

    And my personal favorite:

    In Soviet Russia, robotic flowers smell YOU!

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    No folly is more costly than the folly of intolerant idealism. - Winston Churchill
  5. Supersonic? by jcdick1 · · Score: 2, Interesting

    From the article:

    When a person comes within a 40 cm radius of the flower, its supersonic sensor perceives the approach, the stem bends towards the person, and the buds come into full bloom.

    It can go supersonic within 40 cm? How about the buds come into full bloom and impale themselves in the approaching person?

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  6. Re:What is it with Asians and robots? by Speare · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I can't begin to guess about all "Asians" but I can see a few reasons why the Japanese in particular have taken to this trend.

    For centuries, the Japanese mind has enjoyed consistency and fine craftsmanship. Kids have to write complicated kanji characters thousands of times to develop a consistency to it. Antique dolls made of wood with tiny clockwork cams have been built that can 'walk' into a room and serve you tea, or dip a brush into ink and do fine calligraphy. Attention to detail and exacting standards has been their culture. It's not like every Japanese person performs basic household chores like a finely choreographed martial arts technique, but there's a nugget of truth to it.

    Today, we see this as corporate buzzwords such as "six sigma" and "pervasive automation." Six Sigma measures how often you fail to achieve a positive result, with very strict standards. One book gives an example of making pizza: rather than marking a failure if you burn the pepperonis black, mark a failure if you slightly blacken the crust. Then relentlessly work on your processes until you virtually never fail to make an exactly perfect pie every time. Often, the only way to achieve that level of adherence to the perfect process is to take the human out of the loop.

    The average Japanese salaryman works insanely long hours. The Europeans laugh at the US for how many hours we put in, but that's peanuts to Japan. A bit of help to make the home a little more autonomous is a welcome idea.

    In addition, Japan's population is very very old. Fewer and fewer children are growing and replacing their elders in the work force. As the mean age of the population rises, they are trying to come to grips with the cultural impact of importing labor from other countries. While they're pretty far behind in this respect, due to many centuries of isolationism, they are making headway. In the meantime, they're experimenting with robots as a way of filling that labor gap.

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