  Powered by solar panels and using innovative power management technology, the robot moves along a cable strung between two large trees as it monitors the temperature, weather, carbon dioxide levels and other information. - Atlanta Botanical Garden courtesy photo- |
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 Published Monday, August 31, 2020 International News SlothBot
helps scientists better
understand critical ecosystems For the next few months, visitors can observe the SlothBot, an energy-efficient robot that lingers in the trees of Storza Woods in the Atlanta Botanical Garden. Built by robotics engineers at the Georgia Institute of Technology to take advantage of the low-energy lifestyle of real sloths, Slothbot demonstrates how being slow can be ideal for certain applications. Powered by solar panels and using innovative power management technology, the robot moves along a cable strung between two large trees as it monitors the temperature, weather, carbon dioxide levels and other information. “SlothBot embraces slowness as a design principle,” said Tech professor Magnus Egerstedt, chair of the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering. “That’s not how robots are typically designed today, but being slow and hyper-energy efficient will allow SlothBot to linger in the environment to observe things we can only see by being present continuously for months, or even years.” About three-feet-long, SlothBot’s whimsical 3-D printed shell helps protect its motors, gearing, batteries and sensing equipment from the weather. The robot is programmed to move only when necessary and will locate sunlight when its batteries need recharging. “The most exciting goal we’ll demonstrate with SlothBot is the union of robotics and technology with conservation,” said Emily Coffey, the Garden’s Vice President of Conservation & Research. “We do conservation research on imperiled plants and ecosystems around the world, and SlothBot will help us find new and exciting ways to advance our research and conservation goals.” Supported by the National Science Foundation and the Office of Naval Research, SlothBot could help scientists better understand factors affecting critical ecosystems, providing a new tool for developing information needed to protect rare species and endangered ecosystems. After testing in the Garden, the researchers hope to move SlothBot to South America to observe orchid pollination or the lives of endangered frogs. “SlothBot could do some of our research remotely and help us understand what’s happening with pollinators, interactions between plants and animals, and other phenomena that are difficult to observe otherwise,” Coffey said. “With the rapid loss of biodiversity and with more than a quarter of the world’s plants potentially heading toward extinction, SlothBot offers us another way to work toward conserving those species.” The development of the SlothBoth can be found at the following Georgia Institute of Technology YouTube Channel. ------------------------- Should Costa Rican scientists develop a similar type of technology for monitoring the effects of climate change in the tropical rainforest? We would like to know your thoughts on this story. Send your comments to news@amcostarica.com |
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