Growing Life Out of Ashes

June 24, 2016

The Bios Incube cultivates trees from human ashes.

What to do with Uncle Eddie’s ashes? He can sit in an urn over the fireplace mantel, or sit in an afterlife incubator that will intermingle his ashes with seed and soil and monitor conditions to ensure life is renewed through nature.

The Bios Incube is a plant pot that works with a biodegradable urn, sensors, algorithms and a mobile app to create the best environment to grow a healthy tree.

Using custom sensors, Bios Incube monitors for moisture and ground temperature, while algorithms combine data to understand the specific needs of the tree. When watering is needed, a built-in irrigation system distributes water to prevent over-and under-watering. It also checks humidity, temperature and sunlight exposure.

According to an article in Live Science, the sensor is programmed to know what type of tree it is monitoring, which means the device knows the exact moment the tree needs to be watered. The sensors also wirelessly connect to a smartphone app that can retrieve weather data for when the tree is moved outside, for example.

The tree will grow close to you, but if you don’t feel comfortable nurturing uncle Eddie’s ashes into a beautiful pine tree, you can connect to the Incube center where the company will cultivate the tree for you.

The Bio Incube has a Kickstarter campaign, and shipments are expected early next year.

About the Author

Stephanie Neil | Editor-in-Chief, OEM Magazine

Stephanie Neil has been reporting on business and technology for over 25 years and was named Editor-in-Chief of OEM magazine in 2018. She began her journalism career as a beat reporter for eWeek, a technology newspaper, later joining Managing Automation, a monthly B2B manufacturing magazine, as senior editor. During that time, Neil was also a correspondent for The Boston Globe, covering local news. She joined PMMI Media Group in 2015 as a senior editor for Automation World and continues to write for both AW and OEM, covering manufacturing news, technology trends, and workforce issues.

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