Monday, April 21, 2014

How to Let Science and Tech Tend Your Garden for You

By Thomas Hayden and Sal Vaglica 04.21.14 | 1:30 pm |

Plants soak up energy from visible light. Sick ones soak up less. To see the difference, replace the infrared filter in a digicam with a blue one from Public Lab ($10). Then upload your shots for processing at infragram.org and pinpoint failing plants before their problems start.


Photos by Zachary Zavislak | Craft Styling by Helen Quinn | 3-D Printing by Shootdigital


Nibbly deer! Pesky raccoons! Cower before the Garden Gnome Drone! It's a Parrot AR.Drone ($300) linked to infrared motion detectors and a computer-vision nav system on an Arduino microcontroller board. When invaders trip the detectors, the drone executes a defensive pattern, then returns to its base to recharge. DIY instructions at gardengnomedrone.com.


Photos by Zachary Zavislak | Craft Styling by Helen Quinn | 3-D Printing by Shootdigital



Plants soak up energy from visible light. Sick ones soak up less. To see the difference, replace the infrared filter in a digicam with a blue one from Public Lab ($10). Then upload your shots for processing at infragram.org and pinpoint failing plants before their problems start.


Photos by Zachary Zavislak | Craft Styling by Helen Quinn | 3-D Printing by Shootdigital



Nibbly deer! Pesky raccoons! Cower before the Garden Gnome Drone! It's a Parrot AR.Drone ($300) linked to infrared motion detectors and a computer-vision nav system on an Arduino microcontroller board. When invaders trip the detectors, the drone executes a defensive pattern, then returns to its base to recharge. DIY instructions at gardengnomedrone.com.


Photos by Zachary Zavislak | Craft Styling by Helen Quinn | 3-D Printing by Shootdigital


Let people who love sore backs and dirty fingernails painstakingly tend their gardenias. Today's backyard should be a maximized, automated, hyperefficient system of caloric production. With a little science-and some engineering prowess-you can keep your plot tidy, pest-free, and healthy while barely lifting a finger. So kick back with a gin-spiked kombucha and let your self-maintaining yard crank out the zero-mile arugula.


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