Teen Innovators Develop Robot to Reforest Fire-Damaged Areas

New Delhi: Teenagers Marta Bernardino and Sebastião Mendonça have created a groundbreaking solution to address the persistent issue of forest fires in Portugal. After witnessing the devastation of their local hills around Lisbon, they developed Trovador, an innovative reforestation robot designed to plant saplings in areas too dangerous or inaccessible for humans and heavy machinery.

The duo’s journey began in their youth, as they observed the recurring wildfires that have plagued Portugal for decades. According to a study by University of Lisbon atmospheric scientist Carlos C. DaCamara, over 1.2 million acres—equivalent to 54 percent of the country’s territory—have been lost to fires between 1980 and 2023. Particularly devastating was 2017, when wildfires destroyed 32,000 acres of tree cover.

As Bernardino and Mendonça noted, the terrain poses significant challenges for replanting efforts. Their crowdfunding video emphasizes that steep slopes hinder manual planting and the use of heavy machinery. With more than 60 percent of Portugal’s forests situated on rugged inclines, traditional replanting methods struggle to keep pace with the relentless cycle of fire and soil degradation.

The Innovation Behind Trovador

In 2023, the young inventors assembled their first prototype of Trovador using recycled materials on a modest budget of €15. Remarkably, this initial version planted saplings 28 percent faster than human teams, achieving a survival rate of 90 percent without requiring post-planting care. This success encouraged them to enhance the design, leading to a more robust version capable of navigating slopes of up to 45 degrees.

Trovador features a six-legged mechanical frame, which distributes its weight evenly to prevent soil compaction—a common issue with heavy machinery. Compacted soil can restrict oxygen flow and hinder water movement, both of which are critical for young roots. Equipped with a depth-sensing camera, Trovador skillfully maneuvers around obstacles while assessing soil pH and moisture before planting. Its three-step planting process has shown consistent survival rates of 85-90 percent in field trials.

While drones have been proposed as a reforestation solution, Bernardino highlighted their limitations: “Drones scatter seeds with low precision, wasting one of the most scarce natural resources.” In contrast, Trovador plants rooted saplings one at a time, strategically selecting spots where moisture or shade enhances survival odds. The robot can place up to 200 saplings per hour and uploads data on GPS points, soil conditions, and battery levels to the cloud for monitoring.

Recognition and Future Plans

The innovative project has garnered significant attention. Bernardino and Mendonça reached the finals of National Geographic’s 2024 Slingshot Challenge, securing a $10,000 grant. Their work has also received a prestigious European sustainability award for robotics, signaling strong potential from environmental specialists. However, these experts caution that Trovador’s long-term effectiveness must be tested across diverse environments.

The creators envision an accessible model for municipalities, insurers, forestry teams, and NGOs. Rather than selling the robots, they plan to offer Trovador as a service, allowing users to designate burned areas via an app, select native species, and receive quotes for saplings delivered to the site. They believe this approach will be more economical than traditional manual replanting and drone operations, especially when considering seed wastage.

Following field trials around Lisbon this summer, the team is refining Trovador for commercial use. Their goal is to deploy the robot in extensive damaged landscapes by 2026. Bernardino expresses a sense of urgency, aiming for reforestation efforts that are “fast, precise, easy to check and ready to scale across the millions of hectares climate models indicate must be restored this decade.”