A trio of Aberdeen teens has developed an award-winning robot which could help restore Scotland’s forests after being inspired by their work with The James Hutton Institute, Scotland’s pre-eminent interdisciplinary scientific research institute for the sustainable management of land, crop and nature resources.
The robot, called ThistleDroid, can assess whether an environment is suitable for reforestation and disperse seeds appropriate to the area.
S5 student Anjishnu Bhaduri (16) was inspired to create the machine after working on a summer project with Hutton researcher Dr Alessandro Gimona, using the ECOFOREST (ECOsystem services and reFORESTation) tool to plan afforestation in Scotland. The web-based tool helps non-expert users identify the most suitable areas for tree planting by bringing together a range of data including ecosystem service maps and information on the needs of individual tree species to provide a map of tree planting options.
Following this work, Anjishnu took it upon himself to devise an automated method for reforesting these high-potential areas. He teamed up with friends Adwait Sharma (16) and Jayawant Sivarajan (15) and, under the mentorship of Anjishnu’s father Aranya, the trio built ‘ThistleDroid’ – a one-of-a-kind robot designed to help restore Scotland’s forests.
Using multiple on-board sensors and a high-resolution, low-light camera, ThistleDroid gathers vital data, including soil measurements and high-quality imagery. The home-built robot then uses AI to assess an area and, if the right conditions have been found, disperse appropriate seeds.
ThistleDroid is fully autonomous, using a built-in GPS to navigate without human input. According to its creators, the machine could facilitate cost-effective ecological restoration and environmental study while reducing the manual labour required.
After developing the robot, the trio entered it into the World Robotics Olympiad UK 2025. The entry won first place in the Senior Future Innovators category, and the teens have been invited to represent Great Britain alongside other UK winners at the International World Robotics Olympiad in Singapore this November.
Anjishnu said: “The opportunity of working with Dr Gimona at The James Hutton Institute has allowed me to connect my two biggest interests – using science and technology for solving real-life problems and protecting Scotland’s natural beauty.”
Dr Gimona said, “It’s incredibly rewarding to see Anjishnu take inspiration from our afforestation project to make something ambitious and impactful.”
“At the Hutton, we’re proud to support young talent and help spark the kind of curiosity that leads to real-world innovation.”
The James Hutton Institute is Scotland’s pre-eminent interdisciplinary scientific research institute at the forefront of transformative science for the sustainable management of land, crop and nature resources that support thriving rural communities in Scotland and across the globe. It has around 500 employees, 100 PhD students, and has its main campuses at Aberdeen and Invergowrie, near Dundee. The Hutton takes its name from the eminent 18th-century Scottish Enlightenment scientist, James Hutton, innovator and polymath, who transformed our understanding of the Earth with revolutionary ideas of deep time and the endless natural cycles of the earth. www.hutton.ac.uk
