Pangolin-inspired robot poops tree seeds into holes it digs

The hole-digging, seed-bomb-depositing, Plantolin pangolin-inspired robot. University of Surrey –

By Ben Coxworth
2024 Oct 05
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Foraging pangolins already dig in the dirt, so why not get them planting trees while they’re at it? Well, training them would be pretty hard, which is why a California high school student named Dorothy designed a pangolin-inspired robot to do the digging and planting.

Dubbed the Plantolin, the bio-inspired bot is the latest winner of the annual Natural Robotics Contest, which is run by the University of Surrey and funded by the British Ecological Society.

In a nutshell, the competition invites people from all over the world to submit their ideas for nature-inspired robots that are capable of doing something to help the planet. The winning concept gets made into an actual functioning prototype by one or more of the partnering research institutes.

In the case of the Plantolin, that partner was the University of Surrey itself. Other partners include Queen Mary University of London, the Royal College of Art, EPFL Lausanne (Switzerland), the Technical University of Munich, and Alexander Humboldt University (Germany). The previous winner was a robotic fish that filters microplastic particles out of the water.

*An unsheathed view of the Plantolin, along with some of its seed bombs – Dorothy’s design beat out 183 other entries. University of Surrey*

In the same way that a pangolin waddles on its two hind legs, the Plantolin balances Segway-style on two wheels. Each wheel is powered by an electric quadcopter drone motor. The long tail is raised as a counterweight when the robot is making its way across the ground, but tilts down to provide leverage once the bot stops to start digging.

That digging is done by two motorized front legs. Those legs have claws that stay locked in place when they’re scooping soil away, but passively bend back out of the way when being drawn forward to take another scoop.

Once the hole has been dug, the Plantolin drives over it, pooping a yew tree “seed bomb” (basically a nugget of seeds and soil) into the hole as it does so. Those bombs are fed into a dispenser through a hole in the top of the robot, and are carried by an internal conveyor belt to its “butt” for dispersal.

*Just for reference, here’s a photo of a real pangolin. Depositphotos*

“The restoration of forests through planting more trees is essential for the sustainable development of our planet,” says Dorothy. “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 was built by University of Surrey roboticist Dr. Robert Siddall, who explains more about the bot’s workings in the video below.

Plantolin: Winner of the 2nd Natural Robotics Contest
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Source: University of Surrey View gallery – 4 images
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Tags

Robotics University of Surrey Biomimicry Tree Competition
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Ben Coxworth

Based out of Edmonton, Canada, Ben Coxworth has been writing for New Atlas since 2009 and is presently Managing Editor for North America. An experienced freelance writer, he previously obtained an English BA from the University of Saskatchewan, then spent over 20 years working in various markets as a television reporter, producer and news videographer. Ben is particularly interested in scientific innovation, human-powered transportation, and the marine environment.
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2 Comments

Username – 2024 Oct 05 – 09:19 AM

One of the criteria should be actual practicality. This thing can’t carry very many seeds or properly plant them. I guess it won for being cute.

Techutante – 2024 Oct 05 – 03:20 PM

Monoculture replanting is less of a benefit than people originally thought it would be. It just means you plant a thousand trees that all die of the same disease later on, like the banana trees.
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