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Chinese scientists have developed a self-propelled tracked robot capable of navigating desert terrain and extracting iron-rich particles from sand, in a project reminiscent of scenes from the famous science fiction novel "Dune".
According to the "South China Morning Post", the robot is undergoing tests in the Taklamakan Desert in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in northwest China, and was developed by a team from Tarim University.
The robot relies on dry magnetic separation technology, which uses permanent magnets made of a neodymium-iron-boron alloy to separate magnetic particles from sand, allowing for the collection of iron-rich materials without the need for wet separation processes.
Studies estimate that the iron content in the region's sand is about 6%, but the dispersion of these materials and the difficulty of collecting them have posed an obstacle to their economic exploitation.
In June 2025, researchers tested a prototype to evaluate its ability to move over sand and its energy consumption efficiency. Analyses of two samples of the extracted materials showed that the total iron content reached about 24% and 32%, while tests are still ongoing.
The project brings to mind the novel "Dune" by author Frank Herbert, which depicts giant harvesters roaming the sands of a fictional planet to extract "melange", known as spice. Despite the difference in the extracted material, the common idea is the use of mobile machines to extract precious resources from a harsh desert environment.
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