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When I was in 8th grade in Oregon. We went to a clear cut site to plant trees. We had to dig a very small hole and put the seedling into it. They had little bur

When I was in 8th grade in Oregon. We went to a clear cut site to plant trees. We had to dig a very small hole and put the seedling into it. They had little burlap bags around them with a bit of dirt around the root ball. There was twine tied to keep the bag closed. The ground we had to walk through was like a world war I trench zone with massive holes, ripped up trees, rocks, pits, it was a mess and hard to climb through. It was fun as a kid. But there was no way you could just throw trees everywhere and have them grow. That being said, I can see how drones could do this with a tech change in how they are planted. Each drone has a few seedlings, the seedlings are in a pod that is weighted (keep it upright during planting) and self-sustaining (ie, plenty of dirt, water retention polymers, etc..) so they could be set on _top_ of the ground. (maybe some hex-shaped carboard box thing? lol) Then drones get brought in with a big giant ass truck, you have 1000 drones, they make many multiple trips, recharges. It's possible.

qznc 9y ago
The article says "a drone loaded with germinated seeds fires (!) pods into the ground at a rate of one per second". The video makes it look like the drone will just fly over the terrain. Maybe the pods fall from say 10m and that is enough to get them into the ground (and not kill them)?
- RobertRoberts 9y ago
  Well, I missed that part somehow. :P But those are seeds not seedlings, maybe a downside to the change in planting technique from the past. I guess I can see how it would be cheaper/easier to fire seeds all over the place though. I don't think 10m (or even 100m) would get them into the ground. In my experience, the ground is a lot of rocks, roots and some dirt all in a big mess. Especially where there's been logging. But there's also a lot of upturned dirt, so who knows. The best way to find out is to give it a shot. Can't be hard to fund a trial run. I bet it cost more to make the 3d video than to actual try it out and record the drone doing the work. :P
  - beagleman 9y ago
    If these are the same drones I've seen previously, the germinated seed is inside a hard(ish) molded nutrient pod with a pointy end, and the drone fires it into the ground with a compressed air cannon. Which makes me very dubious about the '1 per second' rate of fire - even if it's possible, the weight of the gear + seed pods + gas is going to severely limit how many can be planted before needing to reload and recharge.
    - XorNot 9y ago
      I mean why not use gunpowder?
    - RobertRoberts 9y ago
      I generally agree, it would seem easier to find a way to be able to "drop" a pod that could anchor itself, or not need to be burried... Something with barbs to hold it to the ground? Well, I don't need to solve their problem for them, lol. I hope this works in some way, it's sounds neat in theory.
    - daemin 9y ago
      So realistically you could just throw these seeds from the air using a plane and it would be even more efficient? Modify some sort of sprayer to spray seeds over a large enough area. With enough seeds there should be sufficient trees to survive and grow.

qznc 9y ago

The article says "a drone loaded with germinated seeds fires (!) pods into the ground at a rate of one per second". The video makes it look like the drone will just fly over the terrain. Maybe the pods fall from say 10m and that is enough to get them into the ground (and not kill them)?

RobertRoberts 9y ago
Well, I missed that part somehow. :P But those are seeds not seedlings, maybe a downside to the change in planting technique from the past. I guess I can see how it would be cheaper/easier to fire seeds all over the place though. I don't think 10m (or even 100m) would get them into the ground. In my experience, the ground is a lot of rocks, roots and some dirt all in a big mess. Especially where there's been logging. But there's also a lot of upturned dirt, so who knows. The best way to find out is to give it a shot. Can't be hard to fund a trial run. I bet it cost more to make the 3d video than to actual try it out and record the drone doing the work. :P
- beagleman 9y ago
  If these are the same drones I've seen previously, the germinated seed is inside a hard(ish) molded nutrient pod with a pointy end, and the drone fires it into the ground with a compressed air cannon. Which makes me very dubious about the '1 per second' rate of fire - even if it's possible, the weight of the gear + seed pods + gas is going to severely limit how many can be planted before needing to reload and recharge.
  - XorNot 9y ago
    I mean why not use gunpowder?
  - RobertRoberts 9y ago
    I generally agree, it would seem easier to find a way to be able to "drop" a pod that could anchor itself, or not need to be burried... Something with barbs to hold it to the ground? Well, I don't need to solve their problem for them, lol. I hope this works in some way, it's sounds neat in theory.
  - daemin 9y ago
    So realistically you could just throw these seeds from the air using a plane and it would be even more efficient? Modify some sort of sprayer to spray seeds over a large enough area. With enough seeds there should be sufficient trees to survive and grow.