OrbiRoboTree

Contact Person (Coordinator)

Niklas Grambow

Fraunhofer-Institut für Produktionsanlagen und Konstruktionstechnik (IPK)
Pascalstraße 8-9
10587 Berlin

niklas.grambow@fraunhofer.ipk.de

What the Project Is About

Rising demand for tree seedlings for reforestation is overwhelming conventional seedling production, which is costly, labor-intensive, and requires significant space and resources. The OrbiRoboTree project addresses these challenges by integrating flexible robotics into the OrbiPlant® cultivation system developed at Fraunhofer IME to automate the entire process. The vertical farming system secures the plants, continuously realigns them, and optimizes lighting and nutrient supply. Additionally, aeroponic irrigation reduces the consumption of water, fertilizer, and pesticides. A robotic arm is capable of picking up cuttings from unstructured environments, inserting them vertically into the OrbiPlant®, and, after the propagation phase, gently removing the rooted seedlings and transferring them to a final post-treatment stage.

Through fully automated indoor cultivation with OrbiRoboTree, seedlings are to be produced in the future regardless of location, weather, and season, thereby reducing not only emissions from transportation but also increasing productivity. The quality of growth will be tested in initial field trials in the forest. The project contributes to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): It simplifies the restoration of forest ecosystems and reduces water consumption (SDG 6), promotes industry and innovation (SDG 9), enables the sustainable production of tree seedlings (SDG 12), and significantly accelerates reforestation efforts worldwide (SDG 13 & 15). In addition, OrbiRoboTree’s technologies can be easily adapted to other seedlings, for example, to combat desertification in Mediterranean regions. The developed technologies are to be presented in a way that is both scientifically sound and effective in reaching the public.