This Tiny Robot Can Transform a Desert into a Lush Green Habitable Forest

Conveniently known as the Seedbot, this self-operating drone can transform a desert into a blooming habitable forest. A graduation project from Mazyar Etehadi of the Dubai institute of Design and Innovation, this robotic drone will manually plant seeds across desert terrains with the ultimate goal of turning uninhabitable terrains into lush green habitable areas.

The bot will traverse desert areas planting seeds throughout the day powered by solar panels mounted on its exterior surface. It’s propeller-style feet was designed to efficiently move it around on sandy desert terrains while the rear end of the bot plants seed into the soil.

Of course not all areas of a desert terrain is fertile, so the Seedbot will use its sensors and navigation systems to identify fertile areas and plant seeds in those areas. The robot functions much like a segmented insect with the three main parts, the front for seeing and navigating using ultrasound sensors and the rear for planting. A movable head allows the bot to choose the right path to avoid obstacles.

In addition to planting the seeds, the bot will monitor every planted seed every few days ensuring that they are planted correctly and growing. Working together with hundreds of other Seedbots, these planting robots can eventually turn a desert area into a lush green oasis over time and that is the ultimate goal of the project according to its designer Mazyar Etehadi.