BIG DREAM Hobby and Craft: This Lazy 'SlothBot' Could Change Conservation Forever

Minggu, 16 Mei 2021

This Lazy 'SlothBot' Could Change Conservation Forever

Early sketches of the SlothBot

GEORGIA TECH

This Lazy 'SlothBot' Could Change Conservation Forever

If this robot detective can help ecologists solve a mystery in the Ecuadorian rainforest, it could be a big win for conservation.

By: Courtney Linder

Suspended beneath a thick canopy of trees, the sloth inches along with slow strides. Painfully slow. Intentionally slow. Crawling high up among the branches, traipsing along a 100-foot steel cable, the little creature is like a lethargic acrobat. But its goal is not to delight or to put on a show; in fact, just the opposite. This sloth is all about stealth, observation, and collecting as much sunlight as possible.

After all, this is a solar-powered robot.

At the Atlanta Botanical Garden, SlothBot is under direct supervision from the researchers who built it. If you stroll along the garden's raised Canopy Walk, you can catch a glimpse of the robot's googly eyes and 3D-printed shell. It might not seem like it, but the sloth is hard at work collecting vital environmental data, such as temperature and carbon dioxide levels.

SlothBot serves as a private investigator of sorts. Its leisurely, languid locomotion helps the robot avoid suspicion—and it'll need that inconspicuous appearance if it hopes to achieve its mission.

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