Meet Plantolin, the tree-planting robot pangolin built by student

A robot pangolin designed to plant trees is the winner of the 2023 Natural Robotics Contest, which rewards robot designs inspired by nature. As the winning entry, the pangolin—dubbed “Plantolin”—has been brought to life by engineers at the University of Surrey in the United Kingdom.

Out of 184 entries, the winning design came from Dorothy, a high school student from California.

Dorothy said, “My entry was inspired by pangolins since they are fascinating creatures and have a very distinct armored and prehistoric appearance (like a walking pine cone). They’re not very fast or ferocious but have an adorable waddle walk.

“In my high school classes, we learned about how deforestation contributes to climate change. The restoration of forests through planting more trees is essential for the sustainable development of our planet. Pangolins spend a lot of their time digging in the ground, so I thought a planter robot inspired by the pangolin’s behavior would be very natural.”

After Dorothy’s design was chosen, a working version was built at the University of Surrey.

Plantolin roves on two wheels, with a long, movable tail for balance. Covered in plywood scales, it digs using its claws, depositing a yew “seed bomb” into the hole.

Dr. Rob Siddall, a roboticist at the University of Surrey who built Plantolin, said, “In the wild, large animals will cut paths through the overgrowth and move seeds. This doesn’t happen nearly as much in urban areas like the South East of England—so there’s definitely room for a robot to help fill that gap. Dorothy’s brilliant design reminds us how we can solve some of our biggest challenges by looking to nature for inspiration.”