Student builds pangolin robot that digs and plants seeds

A California high school student designed a pangolin robot that digs and plants seeds, winning her the annual Natural Robotics Contest. 

Dorothy was inspired by the scaley mammal because of its ground-burrowing capabilities.

More importantly, she built it to aid forest reforestation and maintain our planet.

READ: China plans to dig ‘flammable ice’ in South China Sea

The project’s creativity and ingenuity earned it the top spot in the University of Surrey and the British Ecological Society’s competition. 

How does the pangolin robot work?

Cali high school student Dorothy designed her tree-planting robot after the pangolin, dubbing it the “Plantolin.” 

It’s a scaly mammal that digs soil to eat ants and rolls into a ball to defend itself against natural predators.

Moreover, it waddles on its two hind legs.

Similarly, the Plantolin balances on two wheels via an electric quadcopter drone motor.

Also, it has a long tail that balances the machine as it drives across the ground.

It starts digging by tilting down and clawing through the soil, bending back passively when drawing forward to take another scoop.

Then, it drives over the holes it dug and ejects or “poops” yew tree “seed bombs” into them.

The pangolin robot feeds these bombs into a dispenser and then, dispenses them through its “butt.” 

“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 YouTube video above shows the University of Surrey roboticist Dr. Robert Siddall explaining the machine’s functions further.

On a lighter note, she said she chose the armored anteater for inspiration due to her fascination: 

“My entry was inspired by pangolins since they are fascinating creatures and have a very distinct armored and prehistoric appearance (like a walking pine cone).”

“They’re not very fast or ferocious, but have an adorable waddle walk,” the student noted. 

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