Disney turns a houseplant into a computer toy

Disney has turned an everyday houseplant into a musical instrument.

Disney researchers at Pittsburgh’s Carnegie Mellon University have developed the ability to plug in a living plant into a computer and transform it into an interactive toy, Wired UK reports.

The system is called Botanicus Interactus. Granted, it sounds more like something you would see in a Road Runner cartoon, but it works. By placing a wire in the soil of the plant, you can then touch the plant and see on a computer screen where and how you are touching the plant.

Now, add in the ability for each area of the plant or each leaf to represent a different musical note, and now depending upon your touch, the plant plays music.

Botanicus Interactus uses machine-learning algorithms to
figure out the connection between a change in a certain frequency,
and a touch in a particular location, the website says.

Can you imagine an exhibit at the Epcot International Garden & Flower Show where you can go up to plants, touch them and then hear the music they play? Maybe one day.