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JEFF FOOTT/MINDEN PICTURES
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NGSS: Core Idea: LS4.A
CCSS: Writing: 4
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Meet SlothBot!
This cute robot is helping scientists make observations. Find out how it was designed.
ROB FELT/GEORGIA TECH
HANGING OUT: This robot was made to move slowly in the treetops, just like a real sloth.
Visitors to the Atlanta Botanical Garden could get a surprise when they look up in the trees. They might catch a glimpse of the adorable SlothBot! This robot was designed to look and move like a real-life tree-dwelling sloth—one of the slowest animals in the world.
What’s SlothBot doing up there creeping through the forest canopy? It’s observing. The treetop view allows the robot to gather data for scientists about the environment high above.
The cute robot was created by engineers at the Georgia Institute of Technology. “SlothBot embraces slowness as a design principle,” says roboticist Magnus Egerstedt. He came up with the idea for SlothBot and led the team that built it. “Being slow and energy efficient allows SlothBot to linger in the environment and observe things that scientists have a hard time gathering themselves,” he says. Egerstedt’s team used the following steps in the design process to build the bot.
1. Identify the Problem
Egerstedt wanted to design a robot that didn’t use a lot of energy and didn’t need to be recharged often. Inspiration struck when he visited a farm in Costa Rica, a country in Central America. He saw sloths slowly moving around in the treetops. He realized that sloth-like slowness could help robots use less energy. Egerstedt also thought that a sloth-like robot could help scientists who study forest life. Placing robots up in trees could greatly help scientists gather hard-to-reach data.
Egerstedt challenged his team to build a low-energy bot. It needed to be able to operate on its own in the wild. And it needed to be able to gather information about what was going on high up in the treetops.
2. Design a Plan
The team brainstormed ideas for how the robot should move. They designed it to creep along a wire between trees. This would prevent it from getting stuck or falling out of a real tree.
The robot would mostly hang out and observe. It would take readings of the temperature and humidity in the garden. It would also have solar panels to use sunlight as a source of energy. And it would use less energy by moving slowly and very little.
ROBOT ASSEMBLY: Engineers at the Georgia Institute of Technology construct SlothBot.
3. Build the Bot
At first, the prototype didn’t look anything like a sloth. It was just a waterproof tube that held gears, motors, batteries, solar panels, cameras, and sensors inside. The researchers tested the prototype at the botanical garden. It moved along a cable and into sunlight to recharge.
After seeing that the prototype worked, the engineers decided to make the robot look cute. This would make it an attraction for visitors to the garden. They used a 3-D printer to make the outer shell. It also helps protect the robotics inside.
4. Make Improvements
After a few months, the team noticed that SlothBot wasn’t moving much. They investigated and found a problem. Sticky tree sap had coated its solar panels. They took SlothBot back to the lab to redesign the panels. The next version of SlothBot will have better protection from natural elements like the sticky sap.
1. What problems did Egerstedt try to solve?
2. What were his criteria for a successful SlothBot?
3. How did Egerstedt’s team build and test their design?
4. Why was it important to make improvements to the robot?
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