ArticleNature ecology & evolution2021
A global horizon scan of the future impacts of robotics and autonomous systems on urban ecosystems.
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Article in Nature ecology & evolution, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers.
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12citing papers in PubMed
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Who cites it
12 citing papers in PubMed.
- Emerging threats to Antarctic conservation.Nature ecology & evolution · 2025Article
- FU3D: the first global projections of future urban three-dimensional (3D) expansion for the 21st century under shared socioeconomic pathways.Scientific data · 2025Article
- Global synthesis and regional insights for mainstreaming urban nature-based solutions.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2025Review
- Toward the robustness of autonomous vehicles in the AI era.Innovation (Cambridge (Mass.)) · 2025Review
- Impact of digital technology on herders' grassland leasing-in decisions in Inner Mongolia, China.PloS one · 2025Article
- Embodied neuromorphic synergy for lighting-robust machine vision to see in extreme bright.Nature communications · 2024Article
- Urban biodiversity in the Anthropocene.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Hardware-accelerated integrated optoelectronic platform towards real-time high-resolution hyperspectral video understanding.Nature communications · 2024Article
- Intelligent Fusion Imaging Photonics for Real-Time Lighting Obstructions.Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- Meeting sustainable development goals via robotics and autonomous systems.Nature communications · 2022Article
- The features and processes underpinning high-quality data generation in participatory research and engagement activities.Methods in ecology and evolution · 2022Article
- Environmental Problems: An Analysis of Students' Perceptions Towards Selective Waste Collection.Frontiers in psychology · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
77 authors.
Mark A GoddardSustainability Research Institute, School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2283-6752
Zoe G DaviesDurrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE), School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0767-1467
Solène GuenatSustainability Research Institute, School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2077-405X
Mark J FergusonEuropean Centre for Environment and Human Health, University of Exeter Medical School, Knowledge Spa, Royal Cornwall Hospital, Truro, UK.
Jessica C FisherDurrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE), School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK.
Adeniran AkanniLagos State Ministry of Environment, Lagos, Nigeria.
Teija AhjokoskiBristol City Council, Bristol, UK.
Pippin M L AndersonDepartment of Environmental and Geographical Science, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.
Fabio AngeolettoUniversidade Federal de Mato Grosso, Rondonópolis, Brazil.
Constantinos AntoniouDepartment of Civil, Geo and Environmental Engineering, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0203-9542
Adam J BatesSchool of Animal, Rural and Environmental Sciences, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, UK.
Andrew BarkwithBritish Geological Survey, Environmental Science Centre, Keyworth, Nottingham, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2413-2705
Adam BerlandDepartment of Geography, Ball State University, Muncie, IN, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0473-6405
Christopher J BouchSchool of Engineering, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK.
Christine C Rega-BrodskyBiology Department, Pittsburg State University, Pittsburg, KS, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3483-1465
Loren B ByrneDepartment of Biology, Marine Biology and Environmental Science, Roger Williams University, Bristol, RI, USA.
David CameronInformation School, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8923-5591
Rory CanavanArup, Leeds, UK.
Tim ChapmanInfrastructure Group, Arup, London, UK.
Stuart ConnopSustainability Research Institute, University of East London, London, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3050-7649
Steve CrosslandBalfour Beatty, Thurnscoe, UK.
Marie C DadeDepartment of Geography, McGill University, Montreal, Québec, Canada.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6153-0732
David A DawsonSchool of Civil Engineering, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK.
Cynnamon DobbsFacultad de Ciencias, Centro de Modelación y Monitoreo de Ecosistemas, Universidad Mayor, Santiago, Chile.
Colleen T DownsCentre for Functional Biodiversity, School of Life Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8334-1510
Erle C EllisGeography and Environmental Systems, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, MD, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2006-3362
Francisco J EscobedoBiology Department, Universidad del Rosario, Bogota, Colombia.
Paul GobsterUS Forest Service Northern Research Station, Madison, WI, USA.
Natalie Marie GulsrudDepartment of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, Section of Landscape Architecture and Planning, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Burak GuneralpDepartment of Geography, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5825-0630
Amy K HahsSchool of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
James D HaleDivision of Conservation Biology, Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9662-1853
Christopher HassallSchool of Biology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK.
Marcus HedblomDepartment of Urban and Rural Development, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden.
Dieter F HochuliSchool of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6673-4475
Tommi InkinenBrahea Centre, Centre for Maritime Studies, University of Turku, Turku, Finland.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6682-043X
Ioan-Cristian IojaCenter for Environmental Research and Impact Studies, University of Bucharest, Bucharest, Romania.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6106-5105
Dave KendalSchool of Technology, Environments and Design, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2816-1722
Tom KnowlandLeeds City Council, Leeds, UK.
Ingo KowarikInstitute of Plant Ecology, Technische Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
Simon J LangdaleSynthotech, Harrogate, UK.
Susannah B LermanUS Forest Service Northern Research Station, Madison, WI, USA.
Ian MacGregor-ForsRed de Ambiente y Sustentabilidad, Instituto de Ecología, A.C. (INECOL), Veracruz, Mexico.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3198-7322
Peter ManningSenckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre, Frankfurt, Germany.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7940-2023
Peter MassiniGreater London Authority, London, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4000-1281
Stacey McLeanThe Wildlife Land Fund, Highgate Hill, Queensland, Australia.
David D MkwambisiMUST Institute for Industrial Research and Innovation, Malawi University of Science and Technology, Blantyre, Malawi.
Alessandro OssolaDepartment of Plant Science, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0507-6026
Gabriel Pérez LuqueDepartment of Computer Science and Industrial Engineering, University of Lleida, Lleida, Spain.
Luis Pérez-UrrestarazuUrban Greening and Biosystems Engineering Research Group, Universidad de Sevilla, Seville, Spain.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3378-9285
Katia PeriniArchitecture and Design Department, University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0415-8246
Gad PerryDepartment of Natural Resource Management, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0245-2513
Tristan J PettDurrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE), School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9291-2266
Kate E PlummerBritish Trust for Ornithology, Thetford, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0076-4505
Raoufou A RadjiLaboratory of Forestry Research (LRF), University of Lomé, Lomé, Togo.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6597-8438
Uri RollMitrani Department of Desert Ecology, Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Midreshet Ben-Gurion, Israel.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5418-1164
Simon G PottsCentre for Agri-Environmental Research, School of Agriculture, Policy and Development, University of Reading, Reading, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2045-980X
Heather RumbleSchool of the Environment, Geography and Geosciences, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2510-0166
Jon P SadlerSchool of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences (GEES), University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0443-4458
Stevienna de SailleInstitute for the Study of the Human (iHuman), Department of Sociological Studies, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8183-7771
Sebastian SautterSAUTTER ZT - Advanced Energy Consulting, Graz, Austria.
Catherine E ScottInstitute for Climate and Atmospheric Science, School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0187-969X
Assaf ShwartzHuman and Biodiversity Research Lab, Faculty of Architecture and Town Planning, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel.
Tracy SmithAmey Consulting, Motherwell, UK.
Robbert P H SnepWageningen Environmental Research, Wageningen University, Wageningen, The Netherlands.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7130-9254
Carl D SoulsburySchool of Life Sciences, University of Lincoln, Lincoln, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8808-5210
Margaret C StanleySchool of Biological Sciences, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.
Tim Van de VoordeDepartment of Geography, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9324-5087
Stephen J VennEcosystems and Environment Research Programme, Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0318-6256
Philip H WarrenDepartment of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0550-0886
Carla-Leanne WashbourneDepartment of Science, Technology, Engineering and Public Policy, University College London, London, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7818-918X
Mark WhitlingEnvironment Agency, York, UK.
Nicholas S G WilliamsDepartment of Geography, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA.
Jun YangMinistry of Education Key Laboratory for Earth System Modeling, Department of Earth System Science, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China.
Kumelachew YeshitelaEcosystem Planning and Management, Ethiopian Institute of Architecture, Building Construction and City Development (EiABC), Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Ken P YocomDepartment of Landscape Architecture, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8957-8137
Martin DallimerSustainability Research Institute, School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK. M.Dallimer@leeds.ac.uk.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8120-3309
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Technology is transforming societies worldwide. A major innovation is the emergence of robotics and autonomous systems (RAS), which have the potential to revolutionize cities for both people and nature. Nonetheless, the opportunities and challenges associated with RAS for urban ecosystems have yet to be considered systematically. Here, we report the findings of an online horizon scan involving 170 expert participants from 35 countries. We conclude that RAS are likely to transform land use, transport systems and human-nature interactions. The prioritized opportunities were primarily centred on the deployment of RAS for the monitoring and management of biodiversity and ecosystems. Fewer challenges were prioritized. Those that were emphasized concerns surrounding waste from unrecovered RAS, and the quality and interpretation of RAS-collected data. Although the future impacts of RAS for urban ecosystems are difficult to predict, examining potentially important developments early is essential if we are to avoid detrimental consequences but fully realize the benefits.
Indexed as
BiodiversityEcosystemCitiesForecastingHumans
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PMID
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