The animal kingdom contains many examples of efficient forms of locomotion, so it’s no wonder that we’ve been seeing a lot of animal-inspired robots. Plants, however, just sit there … don’t they?
Actually, they do move, just not necessarily in a Point A to Point B manner. With that in mind, Europe’s PLANTOID project consortium is now in the process of developing a tree-like robot. Its descendants might ultimately find use in the exploration of other planets.
The base of the PLANTOID robot is a 3D-printed plastic “trunk,” which houses a microprocessor. Extending out from the sides of that trunk are four plastic branches, the leaves of which are actually sensors capable of detecting and measuring factors such as temperature, humidity, gravity, touch, and chemical elements.
The robot’s two roots, however, are where the real action is. The first root is designed to move through the soil and, using sensors, change direction whenever it encounters solid obstacles. The second root ‘grows’ down into the substrate by using a rotating tip.
Researchers are looking into adding other functions to the roots and devising ways in which the robots could draw power from their environment.
