SmartSylvan UG

SmartSylvan Company Profile

SmartSylvan is a climate tech startup at the intersection of robotics, artificial intelligence, and urban ecology. We are pioneering a new category of greening infrastructure — autonomous, mobile tree units — that transforms multifunctional public spaces, where traditional planting is impossible, into adaptive, green, and climate-resilient environments.

As cities face intensifying heatwaves, air pollution, and biodiversity loss, traditional urban greening approaches like fixed tree planting or park development are no longer sufficient — or even possible — in many urban settings. Dense concrete landscapes, underground utilities, and limited space make conventional solutions increasingly impractical.

SmartSylvan directly addresses this challenge with a bold new idea: make nature mobile.

What We Do

SmartSylvan designs and develops intelligent greening systems composed of real, climate-resilient trees mounted on robotic platforms. These mobile micro-parks are equipped with:

• Autonomous Robotics – enabling the units to reposition themselves without human intervention
• AI-Driven Algorithms – optimizing mobility and placement based on heat, sunlight, and pollution data
• Advanced Sensor Systems – measuring microclimatic variables such as air quality, humidity, temperature, and UV exposure
• Climate-Adaptive Greenery – living trees and plants selected for urban resilience

This system allows each SmartSylvan unit to dynamically adjust its location and behavior to provide the greatest environmental impact — from cooling down urban heat islands to increasing shade coverage and improving local air quality.

Why It Matters

By 2050, over 70% of the world’s population will live in urban areas. Many of these cities are already experiencing extreme climate stress, with paved, impermeable surfaces amplifying the effects of heatwaves and reducing opportunities for natural cooling.

Europe’s 2022 summer heatwave alone caused over 70,000 deaths — most in cities ill-equipped to adapt. Public spaces are often sealed with stone or concrete, with no space to plant trees, no soil depth for roots, and no budget or flexibility for large infrastructure overhauls.

SmartSylvan offers an elegant, immediate, and flexible alternative. Our mobile greening units bring nature into areas where it was previously impossible. They offer cities a rapid deployment tool for climate adaptation — no excavation, no planning bureaucracy, no waiting years for trees to grow.

How It Works

Each SmartSylvan unit functions as an intelligent, self-contained ecosystem. The robotic platform tracks the movement of the sun, rotates to optimize shade, and collects real-time environmental data. Units can move individually or operate in a coordinated “swarm” to form pop-up micro parks in urban plazas, event spaces, schoolyards, or transit hubs.

This dynamic greening capability allows municipalities and organizations to:

• Rapidly deploy green shade during heatwaves
• Improve air quality in high-traffic areas
• Activate public spaces with living nature
• Create temporary or permanent mobile parks
• Raise public awareness of climate solutions through visible, interactive infrastructure

Where We Are Now

SmartSylvan is currently developing its full-scale prototype, with a first round of pilot deployments launching in Düsseldorf and Hannover in summer 2025. Both cities have expressed strong interest in integrating SmartSylvan into public test environments where traditional planting is not feasible. These pilots will serve as critical proof of concept and a foundation for broader urban adoption.

A smaller, scaled prototype is already functional, demonstrating key features such as robotic movement, a taste of the full vision.

Vision & Impact

Our long-term vision is to deploy fleets of SmartSylvan units in cities around the world, enabling responsive urban nature that adapts to real-world climate needs. We aim to become a key part of the urban climate adaptation toolkit — offering a solution that is:

• Scalable – Easily deployed across multiple locations
• Modular – Adaptable to different use cases and tree types
• Data-Driven – Enabling smarter city management with real-time insights
• Emotionally Engaging – Making climate action visible, tactile, and inspiring for residents

By bridging environmental science, engineering, and design, SmartSylvan doesn't just plant trees — it redefines how nature lives in cities.

Our team brings deep experience across robotics, software, landscape architecture, AI, urban design, and sustainability, marketing and branding and among the others.