Robots in Ecology: Welcome to the machine

Robots have primarily been developed for warfare, yet they also serve peaceful purposes. Their use in Ecology is in its infancy, but they may soon become essential tools in a broad variety of eco-logical sub-disciplines. Autonomous robots, in particular drones sent to previously inaccessi-ble areas, have revolutionized data acquisition, not only for abiotic parameters, but also for re-cording the behavior of undisturbed animals and collecting biological material. Robots will also play an essential role in population Ecology, as they will allow for automatic census of indi-viduals through image processing, or via detec-tion of animals marked electronically. These new technologies will enable automated experimen-tation for increasingly large sample sizes, both in the laboratory and in the field. Finally, inter-active robots and cyborgs are becoming major players in modern studies of animal behavior. Such rapid progress nonetheless raises ethical, environmental, and security issues.

[1]  Tim Chapman.  Lab automation and robotics: Automation on the move , 2003, Nature.

[2]  T. Ura,et al.  Construction and operation of four autonomous underwater vehicles for lake survey , 2002, Proceedings of the 2002 Interntional Symposium on Underwater Technology (Cat. No.02EX556).

[3]  Mohan Sridharan,et al.  Toward autonomous scientific exploration of ice-covered lakes—Field experiments with the ENDURANCE AUV in an Antarctic Dry Valley , 2010, 2010 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation.

[4]  Terrence J Sejnowski,et al.  Foundations for a New Science of Learning , 2009, Science.

[5]  Andrew Gonzalez,et al.  Adaptation and Evolutionary Rescue in Metapopulations Experiencing Environmental Deterioration , 2011, Science.

[6]  Naeem,et al.  Ecosystems and Human Well-Being: Biodiversity Synthesis , 2005 .

[7]  John D Madden,et al.  Mobile Robots: Motor Challenges and Materials Solutions , 2007, Science.

[8]  O. Yildiz,et al.  State-ofthe-Art System Solutions for Unmanned Underwater Vehicles , 2009 .

[9]  A. Körtzinger,et al.  The Ocean Takes a Deep Breath , 2004, Science.

[10]  F Mondada,et al.  Social Integration of Robots into Groups of Cockroaches to Control Self-Organized Choices , 2007, Science.

[11]  K. Rajan,et al.  Mobile autonomous process sampling within coastal ocean observing systems , 2010 .

[12]  J. Borges Sousa,et al.  Unmanned vehicles for environmental data collection , 2011 .

[13]  Nicolas Gruber,et al.  Observing Biogeochemical Cycles at Global Scales With Profiling Floats and Gliders Prospects for a Global Array , 2009 .

[14]  N. Fierer,et al.  The generation and maintenance of diversity in microbial communities. , 2011, American journal of botany.

[15]  Robert P. Breckenridge,et al.  Comparison of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Platforms for Assessing Vegetation Cover in Sagebrush Steppe Ecosystems , 2011 .

[16]  James H. Lever,et al.  Revised solar-power budget for Cool Robot polar science campaigns , 2008 .

[17]  Jun-Ho Oh,et al.  A direct methanol fuel cell system to power a humanoid robot , 2010 .

[18]  Jianghai Hu,et al.  Optimal solutions to a class of power management problems in mobile robots , 2009, Autom..

[19]  Russ E. Davis,et al.  Robotic Observations of Dust Storm Enhancement of Carbon Biomass in the North Pacific , 2002, Science.

[20]  W. Oechel,et al.  Automatic design and manufacture of robotic lifeforms , 2022 .

[21]  Dario Floreano,et al.  Energy-efficient indoor search by swarms of simulated flying robots without global information , 2010, Swarm Intelligence.

[22]  D. Floreano,et al.  Relatedness influences signal reliability in evolving robots , 2011, Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences.

[23]  Rory P. Wilson,et al.  Trends and perspectives in animal‐attached remote sensing , 2005 .

[24]  Laurent Keller,et al.  Ant-like task allocation and recruitment in cooperative robots , 2000, Nature.

[25]  James G Bellingham,et al.  Design and Tests of an Adaptive Triggering Method for Capturing Peak Samples in a Thin Phytoplankton Layer by an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle , 2010, IEEE Journal of Oceanic Engineering.

[26]  P. W. Singer,et al.  Wired for War: The Robotics Revolution and Conflict in the 21st Century , 2009 .

[27]  Paul Virilio,et al.  Speed and Politics , 1986 .

[28]  James G Bellingham,et al.  Robotics in Remote and Hostile Environments , 2007, Science.

[29]  J. Deneubourg,et al.  Interactive robots in experimental biology. , 2011, Trends in ecology & evolution.

[30]  J. Stamps,et al.  Species Identity Cues in Animal Communication , 2009, The American Naturalist.

[31]  Ken E. Whelan,et al.  The Automation of Science , 2009, Science.

[32]  Hirotaka Sato,et al.  Recent Developments in the Remote Radio Control of Insect Flight , 2010, Front. Neurosci..

[33]  W. Sellers,et al.  Estimating dinosaur maximum running speeds using evolutionary robotics , 2007, Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences.

[34]  F. Renaud,et al.  A review of the environmental fate and effects of hazardous substances released from electrical and electronic equipments during recycling: Examples from China and India , 2010 .

[35]  Gerald M Edelman,et al.  Learning in and from Brain-Based Devices , 2007, Science.

[36]  Patrick Lin,et al.  Robot Ethics: The Ethical and Social Implications of Robotics , 2011 .

[37]  D. Floreano,et al.  The evolution of information suppression in communicating robots with conflicting interests , 2009, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

[38]  Ilan Koren,et al.  Smoke and Pollution Aerosol Effect on Cloud Cover , 2006, Science.

[39]  Josiane Zerubia,et al.  An automatic counter for aerial images of aggregations of large birds , 2011 .

[40]  C. Roman,et al.  Characterizing the deep insular shelf coral reef habitat of the Hind Bank marine conservation district (US Virgin Islands) using the Seabed autonomous underwater vehicle , 2006 .

[41]  W. Reid,et al.  Millennium Ecosystem Assessment , 2005 .

[42]  Oscar Schofield,et al.  How Do Polar Marine Ecosystems Respond to Rapid Climate Change? , 2010, Science.

[43]  R. Pfeifer,et al.  Self-Organization, Embodiment, and Biologically Inspired Robotics , 2007, Science.

[44]  S. Hubbell,et al.  How many tree species are there in the Amazon and how many of them will go extinct? , 2008, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

[45]  Bin Wang,et al.  Staying-alive path planning with energy optimization for mobile robots , 2012, Expert Syst. Appl..

[46]  R. Dunford,et al.  Potential and constraints of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle technology for the characterization of Mediterranean riparian forest , 2009 .

[47]  Nathalie A. Cabrol,et al.  Robotic ecological mapping: Habitats and the search for life in the Atacama Desert , 2007 .

[48]  Dilip Kumar Pratihar,et al.  Effects of turning gait parameters on energy consumption and stability of a six-legged walking robot , 2012, Robotics Auton. Syst..

[49]  David Grémillet,et al.  Paradox of flying to meetings to protect the environment , 2008, Nature.