Does the idea of deploying robotic plants and animals in natural habitats to help save threatened species and reduce pollution make you feel better or worse about the state of the world? On the one hand, it’s kind of alarming that we’ve reached the point where we’re investing in bionic cockroaches and robot bees to make up for the destruction humans have unleashed upon the Earth. But on the other hand, recent advances in technology make it possible to explore, monitor and aid our environment in dazzling new ways, like using machine learning to predict the behavior of threatened species or interactive bio-tags to warn whales away from our ships.

High-Tech Bio-Tagging Systems

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The ‘Augmented Nature’ project helmed by a team of designers and engineers at the Royal College of Art and Imperial College London aims to empower animals to thrive in their natural habitats and avoid threats of nearby humans. The team has developed two robotic bio-tags: one for the collard peccary, a type of pig that lives in the Amazon rainforest, and one for the humpback whale. In addition to passively gathering information on the animals, the tags actively aid them.

Using vibration, the bio-tags guide the peccaries to areas where they can dig wallows and disperse seeds, creating new habitats in safer areas away from destructive logging operations. Peccaries are crucial to both plant growth and amphibian habitats in the forest as they travel through the underbrush and roll in the mud.

The oceans have changed dramatically for humpback whales in the last century thanks to ship activities, pollution and ocean acidification, putting them at risk of ship collisions and disorienting them with the sounds of engines and other human activities. But these whales are essential players in ocean health, carrying nutrients from the depths where they feed back up to the surface to nourish phytoplankton, the basis of the entire food web. The Augmented Nature whale bio-tag integrates an underwater speaker to actively communicate with tagged whales, using sound to inform them about the positions of nearby ships.

Drone Bees & Other Synthetic Pollinators

Could pollinating robots really make up for the fact that bees are dying? Many scientists are skeptical, but the situation is desperate enough to give it a shot. Bee populations are plummeting, and without them, our crops are in serious trouble. The United States lost 44 percent of all honeybee colonies in 2016, and other species are near mass extinction. While it seems clear that we need to put a lot more effort into saving the living bees we still have, drones could help fill in the gaps in the meantime.

Pollinating robots are currently under development in a variety of forms, including insect-sized drones that use horse hairs coated with ionic liquid gel to mimic the biology of living bees, created by Eijiro Miyako, a researcher at Japan’s National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology. Others aim to look a little more like real bees. Surprisingly, even mega retailer Walmart is putting a hat in the game; Walmart filed a patent for autonomous robot bees in March 2018.

Some people believe robotics could help keep bees alive, too. It seems like a sad reflection of the state of our world when we have to create artificial flowers to nourish bees because real ones are too covered in chemicals and mites. Artist Michael Candy built this conceptual Synthetic Pollenizer, a system of 3D-printed robotic flowers, which is installed alongside real plants to encourage bees to pollinate. Equipped with pollen and nectar, the machine feeds pollen collected from beehives into a synthetic stamen and then sends it through motors to regulate the amount of pollen on the ‘flower.’

“Bees are easily the most utilitarian pollinators used in industrial agriculture and they are suffering from a variety of environmental problems,” says Candy. “Perhaps in a future where designer crops are no longer able to produce pollen yet still receive it – then the Synthetic Pollenizer could rehabilitate the reproductive cycle of these genetically modified crops.”

Robotic Animals Document & Monitor Marine Life

A soft robotic fish named SoFi developed by MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory swims alongside real fish to capture close-up footage without disrupting or alarming them. The robot has been tested at depths of more than 50 feet for up to 40 minutes in Fiji’s Rainbow Reef. Its silicone body is based on those of real fish to give it a natural swimming pattern, and its buoyancy is controlled by an adjustable weight compartment and ‘buoyancy control unit’ that changes the fish’s density by compressing and decompressing air. The team uses a waterproofed Super Nintendo controller to steer it.

It may not be quite as graceful as the real thing, but the MantaDroid by the National University of Singapore is pretty close to passing as its biological counterpart, at least from a distance. The droid is designed to aid in marine biodiversity studies – and also, unsurprisingly, to carry out underwater surveillance.

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Augmented Nature 6 Ways Robotics Are Aiding Conservation Efforts

A group of Swedish scientists has developed a successful method for integrating conductive wire systems into plants, naturally soaked up from a gel into leaves and stems to create complete circuits in bionic hybrids. The implications, like the currents, run in two directions: power can be harvested from plants, but the plans can also be changed through the application of external energy.

Botanists and mechanical engineers from the Laboratory of Organic Electronics at Linköping University added the gel at the base of test plants, which in turn hardened into flexible wires within the stems and leaves, all without damage to the organic components. They were then able to send electrical impulses through the plants, lightening and darkening flowers and leaves.

“Although many attempts have been made to augment plant function with electroactive materials, [until now] plants’ ‘circuitry’ has never been directly merged with electronics,” write the researchers in their paper Electronic Plants. “With integrated and distributed electronics in plants, one can envisage a range of applications including precision recording and regulation of physiology, energy harvesting from photosynthesis, and alternatives to genetic modification for plant optimization.”

A number of material combinations were tried before the effective solution was discovered. Some hardened and harmed the plants while others proved toxic or provided insufficient connectivity to be effective. The transparent organic polymer they settled on is able to fully wire a living rose, creating a bionic hybrid without compromising its natural functions.

More from the abstract: “The roots, stems, leaves, and vascular circuitry of higher plants are responsible for conveying the chemical signals that regulate growth and functions. From a certain perspective, these features are analogous to the contacts, interconnections, devices, and wires of discrete and integrated electronic circuits. The four key components of a circuit have been achieved using the xylem, leaves, veins, and signals of the plant as the template and integral part of the circuit elements and functions.”

With these earbuds, you can do anything from turning down the volume on crying babies, snoring spouses and passing sirens to tuning your own mix of bass, mids and trebles at a live concert in real time. If this description sounds like a bionic hearing device of the distant future, guess again: all of these benefits are being packed by Doppler Labs into a portable pair of well-funded wireless devices already in development.

Starting with the simplest features of Here: users can turn up or down everyday sounds – basically a volume knob for ordinary acoustics all around. But it gets better: using machine learning and customizable inputs tied to your smart device, Here can also filter out specific soundwaves in real time, cancelling out unwanted sounds instead of replacing them with white noise or other filler.

Beyond this baseline feature set, however, things start to get really interesting, with audiophile-oriented features that let you add or subtract everything from treble and bass to reverbs and echoes, letting you personalize all kinds of soundscapes, from background music at bars and elevator Muzak at work to live concert performances. Users can employ presets or customize their experience on the fly then save favorite settings for later, and fans will undoubtedly begin remixing acoustics in unexpected situations, creating custom soundtracks out of walks through parks.

Like many wearables, these “hearables” are controllable from your favorite smart device and thus require little onboard processing power, resulting in more extended battery life – the buds are then recharged in a portable case. Doppler has already raised thousands via Kickstarter and millions more via tech and music company investors. Some of this money will be put toward hardware but much of which will be used to further refine their algorithms and give users ever-more-custom audio control over their everyday auditory experiences.

From their fundraising campaign: “Through two truly wireless, in-ear buds and a smartphone app, Here allows you to instantly control real world audio so you can hear what you want to hear – no matter the situation – and be fully immersed in your audio environment. Here does not stream or play recorded music. Instead, the Digital Signal Processor (DSP) inside Here acts as a studio in your ears by providing you with a volume knob, equalizer and effects to transform real world audio. Use this ‘remote control for your ears’ to have an optimal listening experience every time.”

Technology to improve the lives of handicapped people has brought us all kinds of incredible objects. From bionic body parts to inventive gadgets for the blind, inventors have been hard at work leveling the playing field for all humans. These devices for the deaf and hard of hearing help hearing impaired people communicate with the hearing world and keep up with all of the most important things in life.

Deafinite Style

Aimed at a youngish clientele, the Deafinite Style hearing aid provides a uniquely stylish way to augment hearing that was either damaged by loud noises or impaired from birth. The jewelry-style earpiece was designed by German firm DesignAffairs Studio and uses a wearer’s stretched earlobe piercings to hold the body of the hearing aid. Perhaps it would only appeal to a small segment of the hearing impaired population, but to those who resist hearing aids because of their ugly, utilitarian appearance this invention could be a perfect match.

Tactile Sound Alerts

Most of us in the hearing world take for granted the fact that we can hear a variety of events taking place around us. The Aria is an attractive bracelet with a hidden function: it lets the wearer know when certain aural events are going on. The bracelet has little plastic nubs on the inside that rub against the wearer’s wrist to alert him or her to a ringing phone, a baby monitor, a doorbell, emergency sirens, an alarm clock, or a smoke alarm. Associated lights indicate which sound has activated the bracelet, letting the wearer direct his or her attention to the appropriate place.

Speak Easy Phone

Before the proliferation of text messaging, many hearing impaired people had to rely on relay calls in order to communicate via phone. These calls can be uncomfortable for both parties since there is a third party listening in and translating between typed words and text. Designer Suhyun Kim took the relay operator out of the equation with her Visual Sound phone concept. The deaf user types her end of the conversation into the phone and the phone itself translates the text into speech. Those who already use text messaging or email to communicate wouldn’t get much use out of this invention, but older people who are not as comfortable with those options may find that this is an easier-to-grasp option.

Theater Translator

Have you ever thought about how hearing impaired people see movies in the theater? There are screenings with captions at many theaters, but they are often scheduled at inconvenient times. These captioning glasses, being developed by Sony, will let hearing impaired movie-goers see captions for movies while everyone else in the theater watches a caption-free showing. The text for the movie will be transmitted directly to the glasses, which will be available for rent at theaters soon.

Seeing the Signs

For those who use primarily sign language to communicate with the world, getting a message across to someone who does not know sign language can be a frustrating endeavor. The Gestics system, envisioned by designer Luise Pescheck, is a portable sign language translator that can be used anywhere to turn sign language into text. Bands worn on the wrists of the signer detect muscle movements and “read” the signs being formed. The words are transmitted to the user’s iPhone and displayed on a projected screen. The screen, of course, is not part of the current generation of iPhones, so this concept is still a long way from becoming reality…if it ever does.

Watch Where You Touch

People who are not only deaf but blind as well have double the obstacles when it comes to communicating with the world. This timepiece concept is meant to help deaf/blind people keep in touch with reality by providing the current time via a series of raised dots on its surface. Small dots arranged in lines take the place of a clock’s hands, pushing up against a thin membrane in positions that indicate the time – just in the way that a traditional clock would. The Helen Keller Watch concept was designed by students Andrea Seitner and Katharina Unger.

Hidden Translations

While some hearing impaired people avoid hearing aids out of embarrassment, technology is making it easier and easier to disguise a hearing problem. The Babelfisk concept, designed by Mads Hindhede, is a pair of glasses equipped with internal electronics that turn spoken words into speech bubbles right in front of the wearer’s eyes. Twin projectors place the speech bubbles directly onto the glasses’ lenses. Conversations would be simple to follow and participate in thanks to real-time, inconspicuous captioning. It may be a little alarming to see someone’s eyes darting around while they read rapidly changing text, though.

Show and Tell

Sign language interpreters are not exactly hard to find, but when there is not one around and a deaf person needs to communicate with hearing people via sign language, this awesome system would be priceless. The Texting Glove, invented by a group of Google developers, senses the signs being formed by the wearer’s hand and translates them into text through an Android phone. The promising technology might have all of those professional sign language interpreters fearing for their jobs in the near future.

Moving beyond our physical limitations with the help of our greatest strength – our brains – we humans are beginning to blur the lines between biology and technology. We can gain super-strength with the help of electric exoskeletons, unlock doors with the wave of a hand, manipulate computers with our minds and implant devices that help the blind to see and the paralyzed to walk. Ranging from devices and tech that are already available to those that are still in development, these 12 inventions are sci-fi come to life.

Electric Exoskeleton Suits

(image via: wikimedia commons)

Powered exoskeletons are among the most sci-fi of modern prosthetics, at least in terms of appearance. Worn as suits, these exoskeletons – which have a power supply that aid in limb movement – can help assist and protect soldiers, construction workers and others with dangerous jobs, enabling them to perform feats of strength that aren’t typically possible. Calling to mind Iron Man (without the jet pack and all the fancy weapons, of course), the suits are mostly still theoretical, but some applications have already been carried out. In Japan, ‘Hybrid Assistive Limb’ suits are commercially available to medical professionals to help them lift and carry elderly patients.

Bionic Eyes

(image via: cnet)

Retinal implant systems can actually help the blind see again, and scientists believe that they may actually be available for human trials within a year or so. The prototype pictured above, created by a team at MIT, works in conjunction with special glasses fitted with a small camera that relays visual data to a chip mounted on the outside surface of the eyeball. The firing of electrodes under the retina could stimulate the optic nerve, allowing the visually impaired to see again. The recent discovery of a man-made, bio-compatible diamond that makes an excellent stimulating electrode may help in advancing this kind of technology.

RFID Chips That Unlock Doors

(images via: gearfuse)

People tend to be pretty divided on RFID implants, either hailing them as an extremely convenient innovation or decrying them as ‘the mark of the beast’. But RFID microchip implants do have a lot of practical uses: they could eliminate the need for keys, allowing you to unlock the doors of your home or your car with a wave of your hand. They may also be used to track surgical sponges during operations to ensure that they aren’t left behind inside patients. The FDA has approved the implantable microchips, which are about the size of a grain of rice, for use in humans in 2004.

Artificial Organs

(images via: discovery news, mc3corp.com, medgadget)

If you’ve ever known someone on a transplant list for a vital organ like a heart or a lung, you know just how harrowing the process can be. But what if, when organs failed, people could receive shiny new artificial replacements instead of live ones? Technology is advancing in this area at an incredible pace, and new artificial organs including hearts, lungs, kidneys, stomachs, livers and even muscles are in development. For now, the devices that have been approved for use are typically only implanted as a last resort.

Implants That Track Cancer Growth

(image via: MIT)

A tiny implant developed by scientists at MIT can be placed inside a tumor to monitor how it responds to treatment, giving doctors a less invasive and more accurate way to track its growth. Currently, tumors are typically monitored by biopsy, which is the removal of tissue. The implant could provide up-to-the-minute information about the tumor’s exact state, including whether it has begun to spread to other areas of the body.

Bionic Limbs

(images via: northwestern.edu)

Extraordinary advances have been made recently in the area of prosthetic limbs, making them much more functional. New bionic limbs can be controlled by nerve tissue in the bodies of amputees, restoring movement to hands, arms, feet and legs that have been lost. In fact, researchers have developed fiber optics that can connect these bionic limbs to nerves well enough to restore feeling.

Brain Implants That Can Power Limbs and Computers

(image via: official u.s. navy imagery)

Experimental devices that read brain waves are enabling paralyzed people to use computers, and may even help them walk again. In 2004, surgeons implanted 96 electrical sensors into the brain of 25-year-old Matt Nagle, allowing him to use a detached robotic arm to move a mouse cursor just with his thoughts. Sensors only slightly thicker than a single human hair can be inserted into the skull and sit on top of the brain, picking up nerve impulses and relaying them to prosthetics. And Intel Corp. believes that we could all be controlling our computers with our brains by 2020 with brain implants that sense thoughts.

Energy-Harvesting Implants

(image via: science codex)

Our natural, everyday body movements like walking and breathing could be used to power our own devices like cell phones and heart pacemakers. Scientists are working on thin, implantable rubber films that can harvest energy from these movements, refining the manufacturing processes that would allow them to combine piezoelectric materials with rubber. It’s not clear how the energy would then be transmitted to devices – we’re imagining plugging our iPhones into USB outlets on our arms, which is kind of disturbing.

TV Screens for our Retinas

(images via: dvice)

In another advancement that seems to have come straight out of the movie Minority Report, researchers at the University of Washington have developed tiny, semi-transparent LEDs that can be integrated into contact lenses, potentially making full-color displays possible. The LED arrays can display images on top of the retina, creating images that are in perfect focus. When the display is turned off, the array is invisible, so the contacts can be worn at all times.

Under-Skin LED Arrays

(image via: physorg)

Ultra-thin sheets of LED arrays could be implanted under the skin, but unlike the contact lenses, the purpose of these lights would have nothing to do with entertainment. Researchers at the University of Illinois have created biocompatible polymers affixed with a mesh-like array of LED lights and photodetectors, which could  monitor wound healing, diagnose illnesses or control the delivery of drugs triggered by light.

Audio Receiver ‘Supertooth’

(image via: wired)

A decade after it was introduced, wireless receivers in teeth still aren’t exactly common. And most of us will gladly take Bluetooth over microchips in our teeth, thank you. But though it may still be in the realm of James Bond tech, the very possibility of turning your skull into one big signal receiver while your tooth plays music is enough to freak some people out. If you ask your neighborhood conspiracy theorist, he or she will probably tell you that you’ve already got one, surreptitiously slipped into your amalgam filling by your dentist.

Real-Life Orgasmatrons

(image via: reghardware)

The ‘Orgasmatron’ is not just a figment of Woody Allen’s imagination. Though a little different from the retrofuturistic instant-orgasm pod in Sleeper, a real-world Orgasmatron does exist and could be on the market within a few years. A North Carolina doctor accidentally discovered that implanting electrodes into a patient’s spine to treat chronic leg pain could cause a sensation of an unexpected variety. Working further on the device, Dr. Stuart Meloy held a trial wherein five women who had lost their ability to orgasm regained it when implanted with the chip. The electrical impulses are sent with a remote control that allows users to change the timing and intensity.