This is a tiny, self-propelling wooden robot made of one single material, and it may just transform the face of the planet, literally.
这是一个微小的自推进木制机器人，由单一材料制成，它会从字面意思上改变地球的面貌。
Place it on the ground, and it will slowly start to bury itself.
将它放在地面上，它会慢慢开始埋入土中。
Attach a seed to it, and it could be used to replant forests all over the world.
给它装上一粒种子，就可以用来在世界各地重新植树造林。
It's a groundbreaking, ingenious design that may also play a huge role in energy harvesting, soft robotics, and sustainable buildings.
这是一种突破性的巧妙设计，在能量收集、软机器人技术和可持续建筑方面能发挥巨大作用。
But what exactly is it?
那么它到底是什么呢？
Its development was initially inspired by hygromorphs, structures that change shape in response to humidity, like pine cones, whose scales automatically close when they get wet.
Plants often use these kinds of structures to change and modify themselves in response to the environment.
In fact, there's something super similar to this wooden robot already found in nature, the erodium plant.
It produces fruit and seeds with a hygromorphic, tail-like structure that helps propel it into the ground to germinate.
As the moisture in the environment changes, it coils and uncoils in an attempt to drill the seed further.
