# Episode 138: Robots in the environment - Stefano Mintchev

- Show: [Robot Talk](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/robot-talk)
- Published: 2025-12-19
- Length: 29m
- Episode: 138
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/robot-talk/2025-12-19-episode-138-robots-in-the-environment-stefano-mintchev
- Listen: https://ukrobotics.libsyn.com/episode-138-robots-in-the-environment-stefano-mintchev

## Summary

Stefano Mintchev, an Assistant Professor of Environmental Robotics at ETH Zürich, discusses his lab's work on bio-inspired robots designed to explore and monitor complex natural environments like rainforests. He details the development of drones capable of pushing through dense vegetation using tactile sensing and protective cages, as well as the use of modular payloads for collecting environmental DNA to track biodiversity. Mintchev also explains the shift from semi-autonomous to fully autonomous control to overcome communication limits in humid, cluttered forests, and introduces research into soft, squeezable drones made from composite laminates.

## Chapters

- [0:07](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/robot-talk/2025-12-19-episode-138-robots-in-the-environment-stefano-mintchev#t=7) Introduction and Lab Overview
- [2:30](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/robot-talk/2025-12-19-episode-138-robots-in-the-environment-stefano-mintchev#t=150) Bio-inspired Design and Tactile Sensing
- [11:11](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/robot-talk/2025-12-19-episode-138-robots-in-the-environment-stefano-mintchev#t=671) Environmental DNA and Biodiversity Monitoring
- [14:35](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/robot-talk/2025-12-19-episode-138-robots-in-the-environment-stefano-mintchev#t=875) Logistics and Modularity in the Amazon
- [17:23](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/robot-talk/2025-12-19-episode-138-robots-in-the-environment-stefano-mintchev#t=1043) Autonomy vs. Remote Control in Dense Vegetation
- [18:55](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/robot-talk/2025-12-19-episode-138-robots-in-the-environment-stefano-mintchev#t=1135) Soft, Squeezable Drones and Composite Materials
- [23:49](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/robot-talk/2025-12-19-episode-138-robots-in-the-environment-stefano-mintchev#t=1429) Evolutionary Robotics and Future Directions

## Topics

- [Robotics & autonomy](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/robotics-and-autonomy)
- [Materials & manufacturing processes](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/materials-and-processes)
- [Sensors & measurement in products](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/sensors)
- [AI & machine learning](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/ai-and-machine-learning)

## Most relevant to

makers and hobbyists

## Mentioned

- ETH Zürich (company)
- Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna (company)
- EPFL (company)
- Xprize Rainforest (other)
- Sphere (other)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [222. Tree-Climbing and Reef-Restoring Robots](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-next-byte-podcast/2025-06-17-222-tree-climbing-and-reef-restoring-robots) (The Next Byte Podcast)
- [75. Size Matters: Tiny Biomimicry Leads to Big Breakthroughs](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-next-byte-podcast/2022-06-21-75-size-matters-tiny-biomimicry-leads-to-big-breakthroughs) (The Next Byte Podcast)
- [133. Mighty Morphing All Terrain Robots Made By Nature](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-next-byte-podcast/2023-08-01-133-mighty-morphing-all-terrain-robots-made-by-nature) (The Next Byte Podcast)
- [35. The Feisty Crustacean That Inspired A New Generation of Super Robots](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-next-byte-podcast/2021-09-14-35-the-feisty-crustacean-that-inspired-a-new-generation-of-super-robots) (The Next Byte Podcast)
- [49. What Robots Can Learn from Starfish and Falcons](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-next-byte-podcast/2021-12-21-49-what-robots-can-learn-from-starfish-and-falcons) (The Next Byte Podcast)

## Citing this page

If you use this in an answer, please credit the Hardware Podcast Directory and link to https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/robot-talk/2025-12-19-episode-138-robots-in-the-environment-stefano-mintchev. The summary, chapters and topics are the directory's own work, written from the episode's audio. The episode itself, its title and its audio belong to Robot Talk.