- The Lynx M20S cuts a three-day forest patrol to one day in a harsh desert environment
- The Hangzhou-made robot is expanding from industrial inspection and rescue into ecological conservation
DEEP Robotics (云深处科技), a Hangzhou-based legged robot developer, has deployed its Lynx M20S wheeled-legged robot to China’s Tengger Desert, where it is helping rangers patrol and protect vegetation at a forestation center in Inner Mongolia’s Alxa League, the company said on September 9.
The Tengger is China’s fourth-largest desert, receiving less than 200 millimeters of rain a year while losing more than 3,000 millimeters to evaporation.
Since 2021, the Alxa League Oasis Afforestation Center has maintained hundreds of mu of Haloxylon and other desert vegetation, including 40,000 Elaeagnus angustifolia trees. Each mu is equal to about 667 square meters.
Summer brings particularly demanding patrol conditions. Rangers must cover 15 to 20 kilometers a day across soft sand that is difficult for conventional vehicles to navigate.
At night, wild donkeys, blue sheep and hares can enter the forest and eat young plants, contributing to a seedling survival rate of less than 40%.
The M20S combines wheeled speed with legged mobility and can reach a top speed of 9 meters per second. It can operate on surfaces reaching 50 C and has IP67-rated protection against dust and water.
Three days to one
The robot can carry up to 35 kilograms of supplies, including tree markers, water bags and replanting tools, delivering them to rangers as they move through the forest.
Its dual-camera gimbal can also identify hazards such as animal burrows, fallen vegetation and damaged protective fencing.
“Three days’ work can now be done in one,” a ranger said, without being named in the original Chinese report.
He added that the robot can spot problems earlier and allow repairs to be made immediately.
Robots go green
For overnight patrols, the M20S can operate around the clock and use sound to deter wild animals approaching the forest without harming them.
The deployment marks another step in DEEP Robotics’ expansion into ecological applications.
The company has also held talks with the Harbin Forest Machinery Research Institute in northeastern China’s Heilongjiang Province on using quadrupedal robots for desertification control, forest management and patrols.
The Tengger deployment shows how China’s legged robots are moving beyond industrial inspection and emergency response into environmental and conservation work.
All images courtesy of DEEP Robotics
