Aerial robotics and forest management and seeding
Amorós, L., & J. Ledesma, 2020. Aerial robotics and forest management and seeding. Chapter 7, pp102-111, in Elliott S., G, Gale & M. Robertson (Eds), Automated Forest Restoration: Could Robots Revive Rain Forests? Proceedings of a brain-storming workshop, Chiang Mai University, Thailand. 254 pp.
ABSTRACT: Dronecoria is a reforestation project that uses customized DIY drones to disperse seeds (“dronechory”) in clay balls. Unlike traditional aerial seeding techniques, which often depend on exorbitantly expensive air craft and support facilities and personnel, dronecoria relies on low-cost mechanisms, borrowed from cybernetics, robotics, permaculture and digital manufacturing, to sow seeds from inexpensive drones, made mostly from recyclable materials. Using drones to scatter seeds allows accurate positioning of seeds, to potentially maximize seed germination and seedling survival.