"Reviving Coral Reefs with Robot Assistance"

Marine biologist Taryn Foster is testing a new method to revive coral reefs more quickly by grafting coral fragments into small plugs and placing them on artificial limestone-type concrete bases. The process bypasses several years of calcification growth and has shown promising results so far. Foster's start-up firm, Coralmaker, is partnering with engineering software firm Autodesk to train robots to automate the repetitive tasks involved in coral propagation. The next step is to move the robots out of the lab and address challenges such as delicate handling of wet coral and potential damage from saltwater. Other restoration efforts include coral seeding, breeding more resistant "super coral," and using sound to attract fish and boost reef replenishment.