TN scientists branch out to building robot trees (India)

14 Aug 2008, 0617 hrs IST, Padmini Sivarajah,TNN

MADURAI: Driving down a tree-lined road in 2020 might not have quite the meaning it does today, if a Madurai Kamaraj University experiment is successful. Its department of bioenergy and centre for biodiversity and forest studies is working to build 'robot' trees that will absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

The trees look nothing like the leafy, green ones we know and carelessly destroy, though they have structures that represent the stem, roots and leaves.

Each robot tree looks more like a giant fly swatter, but a single 'tree' can equal the carbon absorption of 1,000 natural trees. One 'tree' is said to have the capacity to absorb 90,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide every year.

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