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Updated: Sep 17, 2025

Author Spotlight: Unraveling Plant Responses to Abiotic Stresses Using the PlantScreen Robotic Platform
Published on: June 7, 2024
A machine-learning-powered spectral-dominant multimodal soft wearable system for long-term and early-stage diagnosis
Qin Jiang1, Xin Zhao1, Tiyong Zhao1
1State Key Laboratory of Intelligent Manufacturing Equipment and Technology, School of Mechanical Science and Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China.
Abstract:
Addressing the global malnutrition crisis requires precise and timely diagnostics of plant stresses to enhance the quality and yield of nutrient-rich crops, such as tomatoes. Soft wearable sensors offer a promising approach by continuously monitoring plant physiology. However, challenges remain in identifying direct physiological indicators of plant stresses, hindering the development of accurate diagnostic models for predicting symptom progression. Here, we introduce a machine-learning-powered spectral-dominant multimodal soft wearable system (MapS-Wear) for precise, long-term, and early-stage diagnosis of stresses in tomatoes. MapS-Wear continuously tracks leaf surrounding temperature, humidity, and unique in-situ transmission spectra, which are critical stress-related indicators. The machine learning framework processes these multimodal data to predict gradual stress progression and diagnose nutrient deficiencies in plants over 10 days earlier than conventional computer vision methods. Moreover, MapS-Wears enables portable and large-scale screening of grafted tomato varieties in greenhouses, accelerating the identification of compatible grafting combinations. This demonstration highlights the potential for high-throughput plant phenotyping and yield improvement.
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