Windows Phone Thoughts: Kids Use PocketPCs and RFID Technology To Learn About Plants

"EAST LANSING, Mich. - Youngsters visiting Michigan State University’s 4-H Children’s Garden are discovering unseen information about plants in the palm of their hands. A new device called the Personal Science Assistant (PSA), similar to a hand-held personal digital assistant, reads the plant label (a radio frequency identification product known as an RFID tag). The application brings up information and pictures about each of the plant’s parts: root, stem, leaves, flowers, fruit and seeds. By using the PSA, kids discover what each plant part looks like and what it does."



Here's a very innovative use of technology! We've all heard of using RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) and PocketPCs for product/inventory/asset scanning and management, but this application is so much more interesting to me. No need to look up information in a book or to keep up with a tour guide (of course, the line forming behind the RFID tag might be a different story). This solution was put together as part of the Master's Thesis from one of our readers named Aparna. Thanks for sharing, Aparna! :way to go: If you're interested in seeing more, you can also find a web version of the program online.