A few years ago, Vincross CEO Tianqi Sun encountered a problem: “The original idea of the project came from a dead sunflower. In 2014, I went to see a sunflower exhibition, and found myself focused on a dead sunflower near a ground of blooms. The dead flower sat in a place that was always in a shadow. I had no idea how it ended up there or why it died–whether it was because of the lack of sunshine or water –but it was just there, and it was dead. I thought, if it could move a little bit, take a 30-feet walk out of the shadow to where the other sunflowers were, it would have lived healthily. But it didn’t.”
The project in question is a robot that houses a plant on its head, and makes sure the plant gets all the light it needs to live by walking out of shade and into the glorious, photosynthesis-enabling sunlight (via The Verge).
Plants certainly can’t move on their own (unless you pour some Red Bull on them), but this little guy can help, moving towards the sun when needed and returning to the shade when it gets too hot and has had enough. It can also interact with people, dance when it’s happy, show attitude when it’s thirsty, and otherwise be a little fireball of personality. If you’re somehow having a hard time keeping your (extremely low-maintenance) succulents alive, this might be the adorable answer for you!
Would you get a plant robot like this? Let us know if the idea is growing on you!
Featured Image: Tianqi Sun/Vincross
