Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: The increasing deployment of robots in natural environments exacerbates the risk of environmental damage, while realizing eco‐friendly and sustainable autonomous systems remains challenging. Here, an unprecedented robotic framework is presented: an environmentally symbiotic robot that externalizes its drive system to plants and soil, achieving locomotion through a closed cycle of seeding, germination, growth, and reseeding. The robot employs a modular wheel architecture that sows seeds onto the soil and converts the forces generated during plant germination and growth into rotational motion that triggers subsequent seeding. To validate this concept, a kinematic model linking plant growth to robot locomotion is developed, and the feasible design space is analyzed using the growth and mechanical characteristics of radish sprouts ( Raphanus sativus ). Based on this analysis, a 70 mm‐diameter physical robot is fabricated. The measured locomotion agrees well with the model predictions, and the robot autonomously travels a cumulative distance of 240 ± 20 mm on soil over 30 days using only the sown plants and the surrounding environment. These results demonstrate the feasibility of externalizing robotic drive systems to the environment by harnessing plants and environmental resources.
Source: Advanced Intelligent Systems
DOI: 10.1002/aisy.70625
Authors: Kazuya Murakami, Misao Sato, Yu Ikeda, Jun Shintake
Institution: University of Electro-Communications
Language: English
Subfield: Biomedical Engineering
Field: Engineering
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $3,970
Award: 植物ロボットの研究
OpenAlex ID: W7224805136