Morphological Computation in Plant Seeds for a New Generation of Self-Burial and Flying Soft Robots

Plants have evolved different mechanisms to disperse from parent plants and improve germination to sustain their survival. The study of seed dispersal mechanisms, with the related structural and functional characteristics, is an active research topic for ecology, plant diversity, climate change, as well as for its relevance for material science and engineering. The natural mechanisms of seed dispersal show a rich source of robust, highly adaptive, mass and energy efficient mechanisms for optimized passive flying, landing, crawling and drilling. The secret of seeds mobility is embodied in the structural features and anatomical characteristics of their tissues, which are designed to be selectively responsive to changes in the environmental conditions, and which make seeds one of the most fascinating examples of morphological computation in Nature. Particularly clever for their spatial mobility performance, are those seeds that use their morphology and structural characteristics to be carried by the wind and dispersed over great distances (i.e. “winged” and “parachute” seeds), and seeds able to move and penetrate in soil with a self-burial mechanism driven by their hygromorphic properties and morphological features. By looking at their motion mechanisms, new design principles can be extracted and used as inspiration for smart artificial systems endowed with embodied intelligence. This mini-review systematically collects, for the first time together, the morphological, structural, biomechanical and aerodynamic information from selected plant seeds relevant to take inspiration for engineering design of soft robots, and discusses potential future developments in the field across material science, plant biology, robotics and embodied intelligence.

[1]  B Mazzolai,et al.  Soft robotic arm inspired by the octopus: I. From biological functions to artificial requirements , 2012, Bioinspiration & biomimetics.

[2]  Myong Hwan Sohn,et al.  Mechanism of autorotation flight of maple samaras (Acer palmatum) , 2014 .

[3]  J. Rabault,et al.  Effect of wing fold angles on the terminal descent velocity of double-winged autorotating seeds, fruits, and other diaspores. , 2018, Physical review. E.

[4]  K. Gardens The Plant List , 2013 .

[5]  Suyi Li,et al.  Pneumatic Coiling Actuator Inspired by the Awns of Erodium cicutarium , 2020, Frontiers in Robotics and AI.

[6]  Ho-Young Kim,et al.  Hygroresponsive coiling of seed awns and soft actuators , 2020 .

[7]  R. Burnham,et al.  Identification of asymmetrically winged samaras from the Western Hemisphere , 2008, Brittonia.

[8]  Kyu-Jin Cho,et al.  Hygrobot: A self-locomotive ratcheted actuator powered by environmental humidity , 2018, Science Robotics.

[9]  Bo Wang,et al.  Engineering of Materials , 2017 .

[10]  R. Kupferman,et al.  Geometry and Mechanics in the Opening of Chiral Seed Pods , 2011, Science.

[11]  C. Dawson,et al.  How pine cones open , 1997, Nature.

[12]  Ho-Young Kim,et al.  Reduction of granular drag inspired by self-burrowing rotary seeds , 2017 .

[13]  J. Leroy Un grand et stimulant livre de John Hutchinson : " Evolution and Phylogeny of flowering plants " , 1969 .

[14]  J. Dumais,et al.  Explosive dispersal and self-burial in the seeds of the filaree, ERodium cicutarium (Geraniaceae) , 2013 .

[15]  R. Elbaum,et al.  Mapping of cell wall aromatic moieties and their effect on hygroscopic movement in the awns of stork’s bill , 2018, Cellulose.

[16]  D. Greene,et al.  The aerodynamics of plumed seeds , 1990 .

[17]  C. Augspurger,et al.  MORPHOLOGY AND DISPERSAL POTENTIAL OF WIND‐DISPERSED DIASPORES OF NEOTROPICAL TREES , 1986 .

[18]  Alison N. Hale,et al.  Reduced Seed Germination after Pappus Removal in the North American Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale; Asteraceae) , 2010, Weed Science.

[19]  P. Yeo Fruit-discharge-type in Geranium (Geraniaceae): its use in classification and its evolutionary implications , 1984 .

[20]  A. S. Meseguer,et al.  Species-level phylogeny, fruit evolution and diversification history of Geranium (Geraniaceae). , 2017, Molecular phylogenetics and evolution.

[21]  Barbara Mazzolai,et al.  The Bio-Engineering Approach for Plant Investigations and Growing Robots. A Mini-Review , 2020, Frontiers in Robotics and AI.

[22]  G. Ruxton,et al.  Secondary dispersal mechanisms of winged seeds: a review , 2019, Biological reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society.

[23]  Gary K. Nave,et al.  Wind Dispersal of Natural and Biomimetic Maple Samaras , 2020, Biomimetics.

[24]  Ho-Young Kim,et al.  Self-burial mechanics of hygroscopically responsive awns. , 2014, Integrative and comparative biology.

[25]  Vincent Casseau,et al.  Morphologic and Aerodynamic Considerations Regarding the Plumed Seeds of Tragopogon pratensis and Their Implications for Seed Dispersal , 2015, PloS one.

[26]  Brittany J. Teller,et al.  Rapid changes in seed dispersal traits may modify plant responses to global change , 2019, AoB PLANTS.

[27]  F. Barth,et al.  Biomaterial systems for mechanosensing and actuation , 2009, Nature.

[28]  Yei Hwan Jung,et al.  Three-dimensional electronic microfliers inspired by wind-dispersed seeds , 2021, Nature.

[29]  Lucia Beccai,et al.  The Morphology and Adhesion Mechanism of Octopus vulgaris Suckers , 2013, PloS one.

[30]  S. Manchester,et al.  Phylogenetic Distribution and Identification of Fin-winged Fruits , 2010, The Botanical Review.

[31]  Dario Izzo,et al.  Biomimetics on seed dispersal: survey and insights for space exploration , 2013, Bioinspiration & biomimetics.

[32]  Cecilia Laschi,et al.  Lessons from Animals and Plants: The Symbiosis of Morphological Computation and Soft Robotics , 2016, IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine.

[33]  R. Elbaum,et al.  Hygroscopic movements in Geraniaceae: the structural variations that are responsible for coiling or bending. , 2013, The New phytologist.

[34]  J. Rabault,et al.  Curving to Fly: Synthetic Adaptation Unveils Optimal Flight Performance of Whirling Fruits. , 2019, Physical review letters.

[35]  Steven Vogel,et al.  Comparative Biomechanics: Life's Physical World , 2003 .

[36]  R. Elbaum,et al.  The Role of Wheat Awns in the Seed Dispersal Unit , 2007, Science.

[37]  Henry Howe,et al.  Ecology of Seed Dispersal , 1982 .

[38]  Akira Azuma,et al.  Various flying modes of wind-dispersal seeds. , 2003, Journal of theoretical biology.

[39]  Hiroshi Ishii,et al.  Hygromorphic living materials for shape changing , 2019, Robotic Systems and Autonomous Platforms.

[40]  Nancy E. Stamp,et al.  Self-burial behaviour of Erodium cicutarium seeds. , 1984 .

[41]  Ignazio Maria Viola,et al.  A separated vortex ring underlies the flight of the dandelion , 2018, Nature.

[42]  Mark C Andersen,et al.  DIASPORE MORPHOLOGY AND SEED DISPERSAL IN SEVERAL WIND-DISPERSED ASTERACEAE. , 1993, American journal of botany.