This Trippy Arduino-Powered “Plant” Trains Your Brain

Ever wish you could synchronize your brainwaves with an otherworldly luminescent plant from the comfort of your own room? Well, thanks to the Biotronesis group and their recently unveiled PETT Plant, the experience can soon be yours.

Launched this week on Indiegogo, the PETT Plant is an interactive light sculpture based on a Teensy 3.1 (Arduino-compatible) development board. The board controls the hue of the connected LED lights along with the speed and pattern of their pulse. An Android companion app allows you to dial in the settings, with the idea being that the right rhythm of light pulses can create a sympathetic response in your brain called “entrainment.”

This idea of entrainment is the same concept behind illuminated sleep or meditation masks, such as Mitch Altman’s Brain Machine. By no coincidence, Mitch is given a special thanks in the campaign material.

Tripping Daisy

Though I admit my affection of all things blinky and trippy, I’m not usually given to writing up every interactive LED lamp that comes my way. But I was struck by both the earnest psychedelic pitch of its creators, and moreover, the unique process that goes into designing and creating these lamps.

I’m so accustomed to hearing about digitally designed, 3D printed parts, I was struck (perhaps even a little confused) by the group’s choice to cast the design from molds of real plants. It’s not like anyone would mistake the glowing plastic plant for being real, but I suppose if you’re trying to create the illusion of a trans-dimensional burning bush that can communicate directly with your mind, then the organic details matter.