Today, environmental protection issues come to the fore among other global priorities.
Robots that grow trees
Regular cutting of trees leads to growthconcentration of carbon monoxide in the atmosphere by 6-12%. Scientists estimate that more than 15 billion trees are cut down on the planet every year. During the same period, only 5 billion trees grow. If nothing is done, the forest reserves will run out by 2300. The use of robotic technology will help solve this problem.
Growbot - self-contained hydroponic garden
The project is positioned by the developers asan eco-friendly alternative to traditional farming. The robotic system works on solar energy, no chemical fertilizers are used during cultivation. Advanced hydroponic technology is based on closed loop water circulation, the liquid is reused and does not pollute natural water bodies.
The Growbot robot looks like a six-wheeled onetruck. It is equipped with a seeder to loosen hard soil. Estimated service life is 35,000 hours. Areas of application: forest restoration, landscaping, agricultural work. The device copes with planting trees in difficult terrain and in regions where poisonous snakes and spiders are found. Developers are now working on a next-generation Growbot robot that will be able to plant a thousand trees at a time and use autonomous systems to follow a pre-programmed planting route.
BioCarbon Engineering - planetary ecosystem restoration
The essence of the startup is large-scale forest planting.Drones drop capsules with sprouted tree seeds and monitor the growth process. The developers estimate that up to 36,000 trees can be planted per day. At the same time, the cost of work is reduced by 85% compared to conventional methods. For mass seeding of an area, drones are used, controlled by operators. The first stage is collecting information about topography and soil quality using drones flying at an altitude of 100 m. Then, based on the collected information, the program selects the best place to plant trees and generates a planting map. The second group of drones flies at a distance of 3 m above the ground, dropping capsules filled with nutrients and seeds (two pieces per second). The capsules are able to penetrate the soil. One drone, holding 300 capsules, processes 1 hectare in 18 minutes.
CO2Revolution - ecosystem restoration a thousand times faster
The essence of the startup:mass tree planting using unmanned aerial vehicles. The technology involves the use of the following elements: drones with containers for seeds, capsules with pre-germinated iSeeds seeds and the LG G8 Smart Green smartphone, which is responsible for controlling the aircraft. Drones collect information about the area, then a computer program analyzes parameters (temperature, soil type, rainfall, needs of the local population) and selects the most favorable place for the development of a new ecosystem. The developers claim that the use of CO2 Revolution robots will restore the ecosystem 1,000 times faster and 10 times cheaper than conventional methods. Two drones can plant trees in an area the size of 1.5 football fields in just 10 minutes. The cost of planting one plant will be $0.11.
Robots and Analytical Systems Helping Grow Plants
Innovative developments will make the processplant cultivation is fully automated and will help solve the problem of lack of labor in agriculture. The volume of the Russian market for digital technologies in agriculture today is 360 billion rubles, and by 2026 it is expected to grow fivefold (including through the support of agrotech startups).
The Plantoid Project - environmental monitoring
The Plantoid Project robot explores the soil andair to detect harmful substances, predicts their impact on the human body and the environment. The device is equipped with a network of sensory and actuated roots, each of them contains sensors, control units, elongation zones. One of the roots is able to bend in response to sensor signals, while the other demonstrates artificial growth. The trunk of the plant is made of plastic and contains a microcomputer inside it. The leaves are equipped with sensors that can assess environmental conditions (temperature, humidity, chemical factors). The devices can be used in different areas of life, from environmental monitoring to space exploration.
Fermata - real-time monitoring of the plant life cycle
Russian-Israeli startup developedplatform for monitoring plant health and yield forecasting. AI optimizes crop growing conditions and determines the initial stage of deviations and diseases: collects information about climatic conditions and plant growth. Using special sensors and Agritech software, crop volumes are calculated with 90% accuracy, and plant diseases with 95%.
iFarm Project - automated agricultural farms
Robotic systems for growing berries andvegetables are able to function all year round. Compared to traditional greenhouses, iFarm complexes consume significantly less water (90%) and electricity (25%). The sizes of farms vary from 100 to 1,000 m2, the cost of 1 m2 is about 40 thousand rubles. The design is based on aluminum profiles, and individual units and parts are 3D printed. The device can independently make holes, plant seeds and water seedlings.
Robots that tackle water pollution
The UN estimates that 80 to 90% of wastewaterdischarged into the environment without any treatment. Fresh water shortage affects 40% of the world's population. 700 million people on the planet lack access to clean water, and more than 1.7 billion people living in river basins need additional sources of fresh water. If no action is taken, by 2030 their number will reach 5 billion—that’s two-thirds of the Earth’s population.
Row-bot - microorganisms as a source of energy
The essence of a startup: creation of a rowing robot capable of absorbing organic matter and thereby purifying water. Developer - Bristol Robotics Laboratory (BRL). The design of the apparatus resembles a water beetle. All four limbs of the apparatus have floats that prevent it from sinking and help maintain a stable water level in the fuel cell. Swimming in water occurs due to the work of a pair of "oars", set in motion by microscopic electric motors. Scope of application: cleaning of reservoirs with fresh and salt water, drain pits, sewage. The device operates in an autonomous mode, since fuel cells use the energy of the metabolism of microorganisms. Dirty water is supplied to the fuel device; after processing, clean water is poured through the dampers. The energy generated during one cycle in the amount of 1.8 J is stored in an electric capacitor. 1 J of energy is enough for the robot to cover a distance of 20 cm, and the remaining 0.8 J can be used to power the sensors and control electronics.
Urban Rivers is a web-based multi-user garbage collector
The startup was created to clean up the Chicago River fromgarbage. According to the developers, users can control the robot through the website. In general, the process resembles an online game, but performs useful actions in reality. According to the creators, anyone will be able to remotely control the robot in real time through the website and thus collect garbage from the reservoir and accumulate it in special containers. When the tanks are full, the device will return to the base terminal, where the Urban Rivers team will unload the garbage and prepare it for another swim. The robot is equipped with GPS tracking and a safety rope that prevents flooding.
Ocean Cleanup - Oceans Without Plastic Garbage
Ocean Cleanup Interceptor Robotis an autonomous vessel whose task is to catch garbage from rivers before it reaches the seas and oceans. Garbage is evenly distributed over six containers with a total capacity of 50 cubic meters. m. When all containers are full, the robot sends a text message to the local waste collection operators. The device is powered by a lithium-ion battery and collects up to 50 thousand kg of waste per day. The device is connected to a cloud system that monitors performance, power consumption, and component health. Two robots have already shown themselves in practice: one of them is installed on the river in Tangerang (Indonesia), the second - on the river in Klang (Malaysia). By 2025, the developer plans to clean up 1,000 rivers that account for up to 80% of all ocean pollution from plastic waste.
Solar & Wave Robots
The total amount of solar energy thatabsorbed by the atmosphere, land and ocean surface, is approximately 3 850 000 exajoules (EJ) per year. Waves are attractive as a source of energy because they work continuously. They can be used in 80% of the world's largest coastal cities and islands. The total energy potential of waves is estimated at 29,500 terawatt-hours per year, which is 125% of the current level of electricity consumption in the world.
Liquid Robotics - comprehensive analytics far from land
Liquid Robotics drones are being studiedoceanographic and climate data offline. The device uses wave energy for propulsion and solar energy for sensors and onboard calculations, allowing it to spend many months at a time in the ocean without fuel. The system consists of three parts: a float on the surface, an 8-meter umbilical and a submarine. It can be equipped with additional sensors to perform tasks in marine science, commercial and defense applications.
Sinn Power - power source for a perpetual motion machine
Modular offshore platform capable of generatingrenewable energy from waves, wind and sun. The design can operate in any weather conditions. Wave generators are equipped with solar panels and wind turbines. According to the engineers' idea, the heavy platform hardly moves when hit by waves, and all the energy goes into the movable floats. The amplitude of their movement reaches 3 m, thanks to which the system collects the energy of waves with a height of 2 to 6 m, converting the movement of the floats into electricity. Scope of application: obtaining electricity from renewable sources; in the future, the project will become a real replacement for power plants using fossil fuels.
Ocean Energy - power generators for remote areas
Power plants for transformationthe energy of sea waves into electricity can be used on islands where there is no place for the construction of wind or solar power plants. The installation is a huge 826 tonne buoy that generates 1.25 MW of power. This capacity is sufficient to provide electricity to a settlement for 18 thousand houses, to power desalination plants, fish and shrimp farms. Bloomberg experts argue that similar projects will develop rapidly in the next decade.
Robots that destroy harmful insects
An increase in the number of harmful insects onagricultural fields are rightfully considered the central problem of modern ecology. Parasitic insects annually cause 12% of crop losses worldwide, worth $ 157 billion.
RangerBot - preserving coral ecostructures
Robot drones are designed to maintainorder under water: they protect reefs from starfish and predatory parasites (for example, marine polychaete worms). Project participants: Queensland University of Technology, Google and the Great Barrier Reef Foundation. The robot can work for eight hours without recharging. The device identifies parasites with 99.4% accuracy. The principle of operation is the same as that of divers: the robot determines the location of the pest and gives it a fatal injection. Coral reefs are not affected. The drone is designed to be inexpensive and accessible for mass production; it will be used by scientists, activists, and representatives of local communities.
Fly&See - pest control without chemicals
Fly&See copters spread usefulinsects or bacteria that destroy pests. In one flight lasting 13-14 minutes, the drone will cover an area of 18–20 hectares. It is possible to regulate the application rate of entomophages per 1 hectare, configure continuous application or discharge only at certain points in the field using GPS with an accuracy of 20 cm. Flights occur automatically, without the participation of a pilot. According to the developers, the technology will increase productivity by up to 20%.
Agri Drone - targeted insect control
The essence of the technology:development of a robot to combat insects that eat and destroy crops (for example, moths, white cicadas, Colorado potato beetles). It will become an alternative to the massive use of harmful pesticides. The drone patrols the fields, looking for insects, and then precisely fires a blast of pesticide at them. Thanks to this, the crop does not accumulate harmful substances. The device should be used at night, when insects emerge from places where they hid during the day. The drone launches automatically. In addition to the pesticide gun, the robot is equipped with thermal and infrared cameras, and an electric fly swatter.
Recycling robots
According to the Ministry of Natural Resources, in Russia every year70 million tons of solid municipal waste are generated, but at the same time only 15 enterprises operate, which extract 20% of secondary material resources for processing. Their share in the total volume of waste is 3%. Robotics developers argue that their inventions will prevent environmental pollution, take garbage collection and recycling to the next level, and open up a number of possibilities for extracting new value from it. According to a study by the Higher School of Economics, the volume of the global waste collection and disposal market (excluding the segment of mining) in 2019 exceeded $ 1.1 trillion. This market is expected to grow by 7-10% per year in the short term.
Aurora Borealis - the fight against harmful emissions into the atmosphere
Russian robotic system fordestruction of organic waste is capable of processing up to 5 thousand m3 / hour. The device consists of three elements: a furnace, a gas afterburner (does not leave harmful impurities and makes emissions environmentally friendly), a heat exchanger (saves gas consumption when burning waste). Scope of application: oil, steel and other industries where it is necessary to achieve the necessary environmental indicators for emissions into the atmosphere.
Recuper
The essence of the technology: creation of robotic equipment for processing waste into synthesis gas and heat, which can be used for technological needs, as well as for carbon black to obtain sorbents. It is based on the destruction of hydrocarbon feedstock without oxygen access and without the use of catalysts under excess pressure. Recyclable: MSW, sludge sewage, industrial and agricultural waste. For example, one ton of solid waste can produce 400 cubic meters of synthesis gas and 50–150 kg of sorbents.
TrashBot - smart waste bin
Smart trash can works with the help of technologymachine learning. The robot analyzes each item and makes a decision on its future fate: bury or recycle. Operating principle: after a person throws garbage into the hole, the robot weighs each item, cleans it of liquid if necessary, analyzes it using a video camera and a number of sensors and makes a decision: send it to the waste disposal department or to the waste disposal department. materials that can be recycled. The device is intended for installation in high-traffic areas: office buildings, airports, sports arenas, universities. The analysis of each discarded item takes 3 seconds, the sorting accuracy is 90%.
Garbage handling is one area whererobotic solutions are being introduced. According to Transparency Market Research, the volume of the global plastic recycling market in the next 8 years will grow by 6.8% per year. For a comprehensive solution of environmental problems, robots are used, the effectiveness of which is an order of magnitude higher than human. Now digital solutions are being introduced into this area, the task of which is to dispose of industrial and household waste, to combat soil, water and air pollution. Many developments are already being applied in international projects aimed at improving the environmental situation in the world (for example, marine robots for environmental monitoring in the Arctic). Experts point out that such measures will help create sustainable ecosystems, increase the productivity of agricultural enterprises and reduce the negative impact of chemicals on soil and human health.
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