Talking to plants: an IoT system supporting human-plant interactions and learning

The presence of plants in learning spaces can substantially improve well-being among students and teachers. Plants can positively influence environmental parameters such as air quality, temperature, or reverberation, but they also have an impact on parameters such as concentration, collaboration, and learning performance. This study aims to use plants as a learning object to promote ecological learning spaces. The paper presents an IoT system (Smart Spike) designed to collect data, and to provide real-time feedback on the state of the plant, soil, and environment variables. Moreover, this prototype was evaluated by 62 students of Agronomics and Computer Engineering to explore what measurements they considered most relevant, and how they would communicate with the plant using a mobile chatbot. The results aim to establish a better understanding of potential interactions between plants, learners, teachers, and the microclimate with a view to scaffolding learning activities supported by IoT technology and artificial intelligence.