Polish scientists are working alongside an international team to create a forestry robot capable of inventorying trees, counting animals, collecting ticks and scouring the forest floor for archaeological nuggets.
The project, which is a world first, has been jointly undertaken by researchers at Poznań’s University of Life Sciences (UPP) and Adam Mickiewicz University as well as scientists from Italy and Cyprus.
With the project still in its infant stages, scientists say that they will design various models and test different sets of sensors before settling on a final version.
“For now, we have the idea that this will be a walking robot, with legs similar to an Alpine chamois [a species of goat-antelope found in southern Europe] to enable it to move over steep mountain slopes,” says UPP’s Anna Wierzbicka.
With the project still in its infant stages, scientists say that they will design various models and test different sets of sensors before settling on a final version.
“For now, we have the idea that this will be a walking robot, with legs similar to an Alpine chamois [a species of goat-antelope found in southern Europe] to enable it to move over steep mountain slopes,” says UPP’s Anna Wierzbicka.
Prototypes will be tested on a variety of terrains, including flat ground in central Poland’s Puszcza Zielonka National Park and steep ground in Cyprus. Their sternest test, however, awaits in Italy.
“There [they will be tested] on surfaces of varying degrees of difficulty, some of it very bushy, some rocky, some steep,” Wierzbicka told the Polish Press Agency.
According to scientists, the robot will relieve the workload of Europe’s dwindling number of foresters and will primarily be used to collect data in the EU’s network of Natura 2000 protected areas.
“This requires specialists, and there are fewer and fewer of them,” says Wierzbicka. “Additionally, inventorying such areas is hard fieldwork that also demands knowledge of plants and animals. [The robot] is a response to the decreasing availability of competent staff and would also satisfy the need to reach hard-to-access areas.”
“There [they will be tested] on surfaces of varying degrees of difficulty, some of it very bushy, some rocky, some steep,” Wierzbicka told the Polish Press Agency.
According to scientists, the robot will relieve the workload of Europe’s dwindling number of foresters and will primarily be used to collect data in the EU’s network of Natura 2000 protected areas.
“This requires specialists, and there are fewer and fewer of them,” says Wierzbicka. “Additionally, inventorying such areas is hard fieldwork that also demands knowledge of plants and animals. [The robot] is a response to the decreasing availability of competent staff and would also satisfy the need to reach hard-to-access areas.”
Sensors mounted on the robots would allow them to verify the condition of trees and vegetation found in a national park and count and identify all the wild animals they encounter.
The robot would also serve ulterior purposes, and the scientists are set to join forces with archaeologists to see how they can develop it to fulfill archaeological functions.
“We’re looking forward to working with archaeologists as we still know very little about what or who lies beneath the surface of Poland’s forests,” says Wierzbicka.
Furthermore, the team hopes to use the robot to collect ticks to allow for their further study.
“Tick-borne diseases are our occupational hazard and a risk we take when entering a forest,” says Wierzbicka.
“Ticks are also important for research reasons, so we decided that [enabling the robot to collect ticks] would be an interesting additional element that could contribute to improving our knowledge about them,” she adds.
According to Wierzbicka, the first prototype robots will be ready in approximately one year, with the entire 1.5-million-euro project forecast to take three years.
The robot would also serve ulterior purposes, and the scientists are set to join forces with archaeologists to see how they can develop it to fulfill archaeological functions.
“We’re looking forward to working with archaeologists as we still know very little about what or who lies beneath the surface of Poland’s forests,” says Wierzbicka.
Furthermore, the team hopes to use the robot to collect ticks to allow for their further study.
“Tick-borne diseases are our occupational hazard and a risk we take when entering a forest,” says Wierzbicka.
“Ticks are also important for research reasons, so we decided that [enabling the robot to collect ticks] would be an interesting additional element that could contribute to improving our knowledge about them,” she adds.
According to Wierzbicka, the first prototype robots will be ready in approximately one year, with the entire 1.5-million-euro project forecast to take three years.
More In Nature & Travel MORE...
