One of the things I want to do with this blog is explore all the wild applications in which Asterisk is being used under-the-hood. Rarely do people advertise the use of Asterisk in their VoIP products so here’s one business where Asterisk was just right for a very unique application.

Although they’ve been around for over a year, Botanicalls have designed a product that lets your home plants call you whenever it gets parched or has something to say. Sounds crazy but completely true… and a brilliant use of Asterisk for a completely absurd application. By using moisture sensors that connect to the internet via a chipset and radios, Asterisk is used to dial your phone and play a message from your plant. Imagine being on vacation and getting a call.. “Hi… this is your Jade Plant calling and I’m disparately in need of a drink, please send someone over RIGHT NOW to ensure my health and safety”. The whole premise of Botanicalls is to foster the personal relationship between humans and plants by giving each plant its own unique voice and personality… keeping you in-touch with the “inner” being that is your plant/Asterisk.

I could see my grandfather getting something like this. He would go decades without a single vacation simply because he never trusted anyone but himself to determine when to water his plants/garden. Not sure how he’d feel about forming a personal relationship with his talking plants though….

What other wild and crazy Asterisk based business plans are out there?