A Robotic Solution for Safer Tree Trimming

Tree trimmers have one of the most dangerous jobs in America, with falls, falling tree limbs and equipment injuries causing a fatality rate much higher than the national average.

Margaret Zhu, a fourth-year finance major in the Wharton School from Short Hills, New Jersey, decided to do something about it. She co-founded Serpent Robotics, a startup that is prototyping a rope-climbing, ground-controlled robotic arborist system — allowing tree care workers to stay on the ground.

Penn President J. Larry Jameson announced Zhu as a recipient of the 2026 President’s Innovation Prize, which empowers Penn undergrads to design and undertake year-long post-graduation projects that make a positive, lasting difference in the world. Zhu is receiving $100,000 in implementation costs for Serpent Robotics and a $50,000 living stipend.

“Margaret aims to increase safety in one of the most dangerous jobs in our country,” says Penn President J. Larry Jameson. “Her use of cutting edge-technology together with human insight is quintessentially Penn and will help protect arborists while improving the industry.”

Zhu says that she and the Serpent Robotics team — Steyn Knollema, Jason Li, and Yiran (Kevin) Xuan, master’s students in the Integrated Product Design program — will iterate the design and pilot it with four residential tree care companies in Pennsylvania and Seattle.

Read More at Penn Today

Pictured above: Margaret Zhu, Steyn Knollema and Yiran “Kevin” Xuan adjust a prototype of their tree-trimming robot. (Credit: Eric Sucar)