Parrot, the French company responsible for the AR.Drone, a smartphone-controlled quadcopter, has taken kooky to even greater heights. Its latest product, Flower Power - which has just launched in Hong Kong - offers "precision farming for pot plants". The technology is deceptively simple - all you need to do is plonk a wireless sensor "stem", which communicates via Bluetooth with a phone app (currently available only on iOS), in among your foliage. You can then select from Flower Power's menu of thousands of plant varieties and tell it whether the plant is indoors or out, in a pot or open soil. The sensor monitors the four crucial markers of plant health - soil moisture, fertiliser levels, ambient temperature and light intensity - and tells you exactly what action you, the hi-tech gardener, should be taking. Up to 256 plants, along with photos, can be tracked at a time. Drawing on expertise developed by agriculture and horticulture experts in France, China, the United States and the Netherlands, Flower Power's statistical tools advise on optimal plant placement for heat and light exposure throughout the day. It only remains to be seen how they will cope with Hong Kong's hyper-air-conditioned indoor environments. Flower Power is available for HK$499 at retailers such as LCX, Yata, Homeless, the Apple Store and Citistore. Visit www.parrot.com for an exhaustive list.
