Cognitive Biological Sensors: Learning from Nature for Nature

In biology, the targeted observation of the environment through organs of sight, smell and touch is closely linked with the simultaneous steps of cognitive processing of the data for acquisition of information and knowledge. In the digitized economy, a variety of sensors are also used and networked with one another to acquire information and make automated decisions. This chapter addresses this duality between biology and technology from a variety of perspectives. Biological transformation has implications for technical systems, especially in the field of networked and cognitive sensor technology, where it has an impact on the construction of novel sensors, on methods of establishing efficient communication channels between them and not least on the objects being observed themselves, which are increasingly plants as natural resources. This chapter discusses research questions and recent findings in networked sensor technology as part of the development of the Internet of Things, which can ultimately also be used to learn new things about biology as well as to advance technology in this area.