Scientists Built A Robot Sloth To Study Real Sloths

A slow-paced robot called SlothBot will rest in the forests' canopy level in order to observe changes in the environment as well as existing sloth populations for several months each time. The robot's mission is to imitate the sloth's inactive lifestyle, and it will change position only when it needs. This will mark a difference of emphasis from the common priorities of robotics study by switching strength and agility for effectiveness.

Proof-Of-Concept

The evidence for the feasibility of this robotic design has been introduced at a robotics conference by Georgia Institute of Technology roboticists earlier this year. Not like the real sloths sticking to branches, this SlothBot will be able to hang and crawl at a slow pace on a wired network. General speaking, the robot is designed to save its power, to move only if necessary. For example, it can move to a sunny spot to get its batteries recharged.

“In robotics, it seems we are always pushing for faster, more agile, and more extreme robots. But there are many applications where there is no need to be fast. You just have to be out there persistently over long periods of time, observing what’s going on," said Magnus Egerstedt, project leader. 

The First Test

Scientists will take SlothBot for a test for the first time. The location seems to be a cacao farm in Costa Rica, where sloths living there have already made their own "sloth superhighway" using a cable system that was meant to transport crops, according to Egerstedt.

At the farm, the SlothBot will have a normal life with its real relatives, while observing the long-term environmental changes.