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Migrating House Plant Turtles

 Robotic, chelonian plant care.
  (+2)
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Poor old house plants. So often neglected, overwatered, un-potted-on. At least now you can get one thing right.

Pamper your plant with perfect light conditions.

House Plant Turtles are stable and robust plant stands mounted on the backs of simple turtle robots. These robots have the ability to seek or avoid light and to avoid obstacles and the edges of tables or shelves.

There are three settings: Direct Sun, Bright and Shade to cater for all your various plants. No longer will your light loving plants turn yellow and spindly. No longer will your shade loving plants turn brown and shrivelled.

These plant stands autonomously trundle to the best lit areas of your house or of their table top and move on once the sun has continued in it's course. On the shade setting they lurk in the dappled regions and at night they return to their allocated positions.

—squeak, Jul 16 2003

Turtle robots http://manhattan.k1...02/robot/page8.html
[squeak, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 05 2004]

More turtles http://www.epub.org...toria/turtles_i.htm
[squeak, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 05 2004]

ArtBot show in NYC http://www.wired.co...,1282,59622,00.html
Select photo number 5 at left for a picture. [krelnik, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 05 2004]

[link]






       Someone recently baked this as part of an exhibit of "art bots" in New York City. It was called "H2O: Photosynthesis Perpetual Motion Machine" and was built by Amy Franceschini and Michael Swaine. See link for details and a picture.
—krelnik, Jul 16 2003
   

       Hmm. thanks for the linky [krelnik] but that's not really what I'm after. Why are those plants not in pots? That cannot be good for their roots. I want to use simple robot turtles with mounting sockets for plant pots that either follow or avoid light. The ones on the link are in an enclosed room and are heading for bottles of water. Not very practical.
—squeak, Jul 16 2003
   

       Also not baked there actually. It's called "Plants like H20" or something and, as I said, mine's to do with plants liking sunlight (or not as the case may be). Also I want cute little turtles pootling around and this thing looks like the bottom of a pram with two desperate Dracenas plonked on top.
—squeak, Jul 16 2003
   

       Sounds like a good job for retired, re-wired, re-attired flocking road cones.
—oxen crossing, Jul 16 2003
   

       Or real tortoises - they are self-regulating and like to sunbathe. They may eat your plants though.
—Worldgineer, Jul 16 2003
   

       I've been thinking. It would probably be feasible to include a moisture probe. Again, three settings for dry, moist and wet. The turtles could maybe alert you to a wilting plant by displaying a message or a blinking light. It would be more fun if they really looked like turtles though. Then their tongues could hang out when the plant was due to be watered.
—squeak, Jul 17 2003
   
      
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