Ecosystem-Centered Robot Design: Toward Ecoresorbable Sustainability Robots (ESRs)

Abstract

The deployment of robots and sensors across diverse ecosystems supports ecological monitoring, nature conservation, and exploration. However, retrieving these machines is often impractical or economically infeasible, posing risks to ecosystems through pollution, physical damage, and waste generation. To alleviate these risks, the development of transient systems from biodegradable materials represents a promising solution, enabling them to decompose harmlessly after use. Robots made from soft or functional polymers exhibit a unique potential in solving this challenge by drawing from a wide range of biomaterials, while simultaneously benefiting from intrinsic adaptability. Despite significant progress in the development of sustainable soft robotics, the influence of specific ecosystems on biodegradation is frequently overlooked. The environmental context is essential, as biodegradation depends largely on environmental factors unique to each ecosystem. In this review, a comprehensive overview of various ecosystems relevant to robot deployment is provided, offering critical context for assessing sustainability and deriving principles for ecosystem-centered robot design. Co-developing materials and sustainability robots with an understanding of their operational ecosystems paves the way for environmentally friendly machines, which are named ecoresorbable sustainability robots (ESRs), that coexist harmoniously with nature.