Restoring forests is important for our planet's health, which is why a high school student designed an adorable Pangolin-inspired robot to dig holes and "poop" tree seeds.
As New Atlas reported, the tree-planting robot is the brainchild of Dorothy, a California high schooler, who submitted the idea to the annual Natural Robotics Contest and ended up winning.
The competition, which is sponsored by the British Ecological Society and run by the University of Surrey, is open to anyone with an idea for a bioinspired robot that can positively impact the planet. The winning submission is then transformed into a real robot by university partners.
The Pangolin robot — aptly named the Plantolin — was made a reality by Dr. Robert Siddall, a University of Surrey roboticist. In a university press release, Dorothy explained that she chose the pangolin, a mammal native to Asia and Africa, because they frequently burrow into the dirt to find insects and create shelter.
"In my high school classes, we learned about how deforestation contributes to climate change," she explained, which drove her to look to nature for solutions.
"The restoration of forests through planting more trees is essential for the sustainable development of our planet," Dorothy continued. "Pangolins spend a lot of their time digging in the ground, so I thought a planter robot inspired by the pangolin's behavior would be very natural."
The Plantolin has plywood scales covering its "body" and functions similarly to the pangolin.
As New Atlas explained, it moves around on two rear wheels, much like pangolins walk on their hind legs. Two electric quadcopter drone motors power the wheels, and a long, movable tail provides balance. The tail raises as the robot moves and descends to keep it from falling while it digs.
Two motorized front claws do the digging, remaining locked in place while they scoop dirt and retract as the legs move forward between scoops. After the Plantolin digs a hole, it moves over it and "poops" a yew tree seed bomb, a small pellet of seeds and soil, into the space. The bombs are placed into a seed dispenser behind the Plantolin's head and travel down a conveyor belt, emerging at the robot's rear end.
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It's unclear if more Plantolins will be created to have a larger impact, but other robots are coming onto the scene to help nature in different ways. For example, robot dogs are sniffing out invasive fire ants worldwide, and another dog-like robot is helping clean up litter from recreation areas. Drones are also being used to replant forests after wildfires, a critical endeavor to help cool the planet in the face of our changing climate.
"There is room in the world for robots of all sizes that can … occupy the niches that need to be filled but can't be filled the way we live," Dr. Siddall said in a YouTube video about the contest.
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