Band develops bionic robot arm enabling plants to play musical instruments

Manchester-based musicians Bionic and the Wires have pioneered a device that enables living plants to play musical instruments. Specializing in electronic music created with plants, this UK music collective merges botanical rhythms with atmospheric textures and synthesized soundscapes, exploring the intriguing relationship between plants and music while fostering new perspectives on the natural world.

Bionic and the Wires, musicians hailing from Manchester, have introduced a device that allows live plants to engage in musical performances. This UK-based music collective specializes in crafting electronic compositions using plants, blending botanical rhythms with synthesized sounds to create atmospheric texture and sound design. The work provides a connection between plants and music, offering fresh insights into both nature and the music world.

Their latest creation captures the electrical bio-signals generated by plants during processes like photosynthesis. Sensors attached to plant leaves capture these pulses, which are then converted into electricity to power robotic plant “arms,” allowing them to interact with instruments like the steel handpan drum and violin. This builds upon previous inventions like the Plantwave device by Data Garden, but distinguishes itself as the first to allow a plant to directly “play” a live instrument.

Jon Ross of Bionic and the Wires expresses excitement about the potential for this invention to spawn a new genre of music, potentially known as “bionica.” Meanwhile, avant-garde designer and synth-maker Love Hultén has transformed a cactus garden into an instrument for his Desert Songs project. Utilizing the Plantwave to convert biodata into MIDI, this project generates organic, randomized music from the sparse and sporadic activity of different cactus specimens. For more information, be sure to click here.

Discover the full video below and let us know your thoughts in the comments.