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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

by 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.

by qznc 9y ago

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.