The protection and restoration of the biosphere is crucial for human resilience and well-being, but the scarcity of data on the status and distribution of biodiversity puts these efforts at risk. DNA released into the environment by organisms, i.e., environmental DNA (eDNA), can be used to monitor biodiversity in a scalable manner if equipped with the appropriate tool. However, the collection of eDNA in terrestrial environments remains a challenge because of the many potential surfaces and sources that need to be surveyed and their limited accessibility. Here, we propose to survey biodiversity by sampling eDNA on the outer branches of tree canopies with an aerial robot. The drone combines a force-sensing cage with a haptic-based control strategy to establish and maintain contact with the upper surface of the branches. Surface eDNA is then collected using an adhesive surface integrated in the cage of the drone. We show that the drone can autonomously land on a variety of branches with stiffnesses between 1 and 10 3 newton/meter without prior knowledge of their structural stiffness and with robustness to linear and angular misalignments. Validation in the natural environment demonstrates that our method is successful in detecting animal species, including arthropods and vertebrates. Combining robotics with eDNA sampling from a variety of unreachable aboveground substrates can offer a solution for broad-scale monitoring of biodiversity.
The collection of environmental and biodiversity data is essential to manage, preserve and restore forests, but this task remains challenging due to the inaccessibility of these ecosystems. Compared to human intervention, aerial robots can access tree canopies, but their limited flight time and noise continue to stall widespread application. To address this challenge, we present a perching mechanism which allows small drones to rest on overhanging branches and extend their mission while remaining silent. We developed an origami spine with two folding flaps containing a layer of high-friction material. When the spine engages with a branch, the flaps open and conform to irregular branch surfaces generating sufficient friction to support the weight of a drone. With HEDGEHOG, a drone integrating multiple spines on a protective cage, we demonstrated its application in a controlled indoor as well as in a forest environment. We modelled the perching strategy and measured the effects of materials and geometric parameters on the drone's perching performance. By leveraging interactions with nature, our drone can perch on tree branches with diameters up to 86 mm and inclined up to ±15 • and potentially remain in the canopy for extended periods of time to acquire data or monitor returning wildlife.
Forest canopies are the biggest habitat for terrestrial life, yet our understanding of environmental processes and biodiversity inside the canopy continues to be limited due to labour and resource intensive data collection. Existing aerial and climbing robots also struggle to access these complex environments, while animals easily navigate them using multiple means of locomotion. Following this insight we present a robot with multimodal mobility obtained by combining aerial and tethered locomotion. After the robot is deployed at the top of the tree, it can descend with the tether and maneuver around leaves and branches with its thrusters. The tether increases robustness and safety and allows for resting as well as emergency retrieval of the system. The aerial locomotion grants the system the ability to move in a conical 3D space constrained by the tether. We modelled the static system and validated the impact of design parameters on it. A simple control architecture for teleoperation is discussed and its performance is analyzed. The proposed multimodal mobility is demonstrated in preliminary outdoor tests, which show how our robot can move within the canopy while continuously monitoring the environment.
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