Researchers at Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University (NTU) have found a way to control Venus flytraps using smartphone electric signals.

The university hopes that the innovation will have a number of uses, from robotics to using the plants as environmental sensors.

Luo Yifei, a researcher at the university, has demonstrated how a signal from a smartphone app sent to tiny electrodes attached to the plant could make its trap close, according to a report by Reuters.

"Plants are like humans, they generate electric signals, like the ECG (electrocardiogram) from our hearts," Yifei told the news agency. "We developed a non-invasive technology to detect these electric signals from the surface of plants without damaging them.”

The report also revealed that the scientists working on the project have detached the trap portion of the plant and attached it to a robot arm so that it can grip something thin when given a signal.

The researchers told Reuters that in this way the Venus flytrap could be used as a “soft robot” to pick up fragile things that could be damaged by larger grippers. The plants are also more environmentally friendly than industrial equipment.

The NTU team said that it hopes the tech can be used to identify signals from plants about abnormalities or diseases before symptoms arrive.

"We are exploring using plants as living sensors to monitor environmental pollution like gas, toxic gas, or water pollution," added Yifei.

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