Robots can now make reforestation a lot easier! 

Apart from deforestation practices, forests also get destroyed due to frequent wildfires. Okay, but does that mean we don’t rescue them? Of course not! In fact, governments, organisations and individual, in efforts to speed up land regeneration, often reseed the scorched area with the help of aircrafts. But in many cases, the efforts end up in failure. Why? Because the soil is either too hard and do not soak in the seeds or the birds end up consuming the seeds.  

With this in mind, researchers have been looking for effective methods of germination and finally it looks like they have found it. The solution is a wooden robot plant seed carrier. Sources cite that it can successfully bury itself down in the soil more than 80 percent of the time and literally corkscrew the seeds. Interestingly, the idea emerged from stork’s bill geranium, a plant that germinates itself as its seeds emerge out of their pods, soar through the air and drills into the ground with their “corkscrew-shaped” tails.  

Named E-seed, this brand-new robot has been designed with three pronged corkscrew-like stalks that can both unwind and twist into the earth. It can also ensure the level of moisture and bury the seed accordingly. In addition, it can safely carry the seed to the ground without being tampered by hungry birds and severe weather conditions.  

The innovative study that was published in the journal Nature reveals that the robot has been made from a wooden veneer (thin as paper and derived out of white oak that responds to moisture by speedily swelling up). It also says how this biodegradable seed carrier can boost the germination rates in comparison to the previous aerial seeding, especially in the regions that are hard to navigate.  

Apart from carrying seeds, the latest technology can also be used to deliver pesticides, fertilizers, fungi, algae and other important foreign ingredients that are required for a plant’s growth.  

So far, germination has been studied with respect to physics, biology, and other material sciences, but such an engineering solution is the first. Scientists based at Morphing Matter Lab at the Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pennsylvania, both in the USA, who have conducted the study have said that the best part about their innovation is its social and natural impacts. In fact, E-seed has been said to have 80 percent drilling success rate on flat land itself, preferably after two rain cycles, not to forget its positive effects on creviced land, which is much higher.  

For those wondering, there was a five-step process involved in developing E-seed. It involved, using chemical washes (comprising of lye and sodium sulphite) to treat wood, moulding the veneer strips on a 3D printed shape, and then wrapping the wood with a thin steel exterior that will make them more durable and handier. The mechanism pioneered is such that E-seed curls the seed with the soil when damp and uncurls when dry. At present, E-seed models are being engineered by hand making it a costly and laborious technology. However, the makers are hopeful to mechanise the process soon, thus offering a state-of-the-art solution to not only germination problems but also other real-world concerns.