Goat-Inspired Robot to Help European Forests

Quick Smiles:

• World’s first goat-inspired forestry robot in development
• Robot will help foresters count species, collect ticks, and survey land
• International team expects prototype by 2026

With forests still covering 30% of Poland, a creative team at the University of Life Sciences in Poznan is building a remarkable goat-inspired robot to assist foresters across challenging terrain.

This robotic helper will be capable of tasks such as tree inventories, land surveying, tick collection, and even archaeological scanning, all in areas where human specialists are increasingly scarce.

The project, made possible through collaboration with scientists from Italy and Cyprus, aims to address critical staffing shortages in forestry and support Europe’s 2,000 protected forests.

“For now, we have the idea that this will be a walking robot, with legs similar to an Alpine chamois to enable it to move over steep mountain slopes,” said UPP’s Anna Wierzbicka.

The robot’s main mission will focus on counting tree and plant species, diagnosing diseases and pests, recording wildlife, and helping researchers gather data that typically requires expert knowledge and significant time in the field.

“Additionally, inventorying such areas is hard fieldwork that also demands knowledge of plants and animals. [The robot] is a response to the decreasing availability of competent staff and would also satisfy the need to reach hard-to-access areas.”

Collecting ticks for research and providing archaeological surveying abilities are planned features, further expanding the robot’s usefulness to scientists eager to study Poland’s ancient landscapes and living ecosystems.

With its unique design focused on mobility and versatility, the goat-like robot’s first prototype is expected in 2026, with an operational model planned for completion before 2030.

Stay tuned for more stories of innovation making our planet greener and brighter every day!

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