As the human population explodes across the globe, there are certain areas where we live which is more prone to the desertification process, which has proven itself to be quite a massive headache to clear up. Basically the core “ingredients” are there – unsustainable agricultural practices, mining, climate change, and general land overuse, but it would be folly to simplify desertification to such a formula considering it is a far more complex ecological issue. Shlomi Mir who is based in Jerusalem, is familiar with the effects of desertification. He is currently working on a solution in the form of the Tumbleweed robot. This unique Tumbleweed robot will be an autonomous system which could assist scientists in understanding what goes on out there in the desert.
Imagine getting a bunch of these robots hanging around out in the desert, keeping a record of one another’s motion. Called Tumbleweed, it sports a spindly shape and wind-powered motion, allowing it to roll across the desert so that it can gather information along the way. This is a robust, adaptive robot with its steel structure relying on tension, where it will then be able to transform itself depending on its path. Hopefully the information gathered will be able to help scientists understand the process of desertification and fingers crossed, find a way to stop it.
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