Meet the Robot Tree-planter
Remember the movie Transformers? It is a battle between the good and the bad, as the Decepticons launched an attempt to dominate humankind and destroy the world. As you cheer on for Autobot Bumblebee and Sam, desperately waiting to see the evil robots get pulverised, you should be relieved to know that not all robots are bad. Says who, in the first place? Not us, and definitely not designer Anna-Karin Bergkvist, who designed a robot that is meant to save the Earth. Well, not exactly from the “villain” bots, but from the deteriorating ecological system of our planet.
This tree planting electric robot is built to be small and it treads lightly to prevent any negative impact on the plants and animals it must walk through in order to carry out its planting function. Hot steam is used to destroy competing vegetation and overcrowded vines that may impede the growth of new seedlings. In the process, no threat is posed on the animals that happen to tread on this newly filtered ground. Each seed is then placed within a biodegradable plastic protective barrier to shield it from bugs until the young shoot is old enough fend for itself. Run completely on steam, the robot is fuelled by “forestry waste” like animal pellets and wood chips.
For each planting trip, the robot can carry around 320 seedlings. The seeds are fed into the machine through the front and loaded onto a revolving cartridge. Once the cartridge is fully loaded, the robot begins its cycle. Mimicking a human planter, the robot stands in place to insert as many seeds as appropriate in one plot before moving on to the next, after it has retracted its arm to fill up with seeds again.
A trailer is used to transport the robot to wherever replanting is needed. Once it is parked, the trailer serves as a base for the robot to return for seed refilling, fuel and water automatically (Remember the ore refinery trucks in Command Conquer Red Alert?) Moreover, this robot can seed an area according to preprogrammed patterns, giving rise to “designer” forests!
(Source: Yanko Design)
