Sensors inspired from dandelion seed can record signs that climate change is occurring

Tiny sensors that drift in the breeze, like dandelion leaves, can help record environmental signals throughout a large area.

By Chris Stokel-Walker

Tiny sensors with a design inspired dandelion seeds might be scattered to winds to help track key indicators for climate change. Global warming.

Tracking changes in temperature, humidity, and other environmental signals over a large area is helpful as the climate crisis continues its intensification. However, this requires the dispersion of sensors throughout the environment. This can be time-consuming.

“Rather than having a person go out and individually place sensors, which can be dangerous in hard-to-reach places where we’d like to do these measurements, we wondered whether it’s possible to build a system that can disperse sensors in the wind,” says Vikram IyerUniversity of Washington in Seattle

Iyer and his colleagues used laser technology to make devices from polyimide films. Each one is 30 milligrams in weight and 28 millimetres in diameter.

The devices carry tiny sensors – essentially a microcomputer powered by minute solar panels – that can send back signals to the researchers, who developed different types that measure temperature, humidity, pressure and light. A small capacitor onboard can store energy for overnight or in cloudy situations.

The team tested 75 different designs before they found the right mix of variables. The final design can travel at 0.87 metres per sec and can travel up to 100 meters in moderate breezes when released from a drone. Real-world tests have shown that the sensors can transmit data to a distance of up to 60 metres.

“The fabrication of the ‘seeds’ is especially interesting, as is the design of the electronics,” says Jonathan AitkenThe University of Sheffield, UK. “Both seem to be very robust to the natural environment.”

Aitken is also impressed by the range of the sensors’ communication abilities. “Coupled with the cheapness of the device meaning that it can be deployed in large numbers, [the communication range] makes this an excellent option, especially within farming or disaster area monitoring,” he says.

Journal reference: Nature, DOI: 10.1038/s41586-021-04363-9