BioLAN

Project Summary:

In many rural, disaster-prone, or remote defence regions, there is no access to electricity or mobile networks, making communication extremely difficult. To solve this, the student has developed BioLAN, an innovative system where plants generate energy to power low-energy devices that send short wireless messages, without needing batteries or external power. Certain plants like banana, aloe vera, and arum naturally produce small amounts of electricity through ionic exchange in the soil. This bioelectricity is harvested using copper and zinc electrodes, stored in a supercapacitor, and used to run a low-power microcontroller (such as ESP32 or LoRa chip). This controller transmits simple alerts like “Rain Alert,” “SOS Zone 3,” or “Movement Detected” via Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) or LoRa technology. These plant-nodes create a self-sustaining mesh network that works without mobile towers or the internet. In defence applications, this can be deployed in border posts, temporary bases, or high-altitude zones to send camouflaged local signals. The system leaves no electronic footprint, making it suitable for stealth communication, movement detection, or alerting nearby units silently — all powered by nature. The same setup is also useful for villages, farms, and off-grid schools, enabling communication in emergencies, rain detection, or classroom bell notifications. By combining biology, environmental science, and IoT, BioLAN offers a green, low-cost, and reliable communication method for both civilian and defence needs.