The development of a robot Tarzan marks an important milestone for the future of farming as the swinging machine significantly makes farming easier and faster. Faced with uncertain future, food shortage could be a serious problem which could spawn so many critical consequences. Developed by researchers at Georgia Tech, the robot's motion was a simple solution to a problem before in the field of agriculture.
Modeled after the efficient movement of a sloth, the robot's action actually has a lot of explanations behind it. SO while the movement looks simple enough, it's actually not an easy trick to developing a robot. Its motion involves letting go of one metal hand, then use its momentum to lurch forward and grab the cable to make its way down the designed hanging bar.
Tarzan robot's movement is a new trend in robotics involving elasticity and gravity, which are features that we use every day to walk or run. According to The Verge, the purpose of the robot may not be very inspiring as it is used to monitor crops, which drones could easily do with less hassle. However, supporters and the developers of the swinging machine also say that the robot is a more interesting alternative of the drones as it was designed to be highly energy-efficient.
According to Engadget, the farming machine will be able to swing over crops through the use of its 3D-printed claws and parallel guy-wires stretched over fields. The main task of the robot is to take measurements and pictures of each plant with its built-in camera while hanging on wires. The researchers are now planning on how to build a similar robot that is solar-powered one day.
The future concept of the Tarzan robot is to be present in farms and always swinging around as needed. Once they are solar-powered, there won't be any need to recharge or refuel them anymore. It may take some time to make this goal true, but the researchers are already planning to start testing the robot soon.
