A group of Japanese researchers have modified a small $100 drone to pollinate flowers artificially
The population of bees, and bumblebees, is becoming extinct in various parts of the world. The reasons for this phenomenon are not yet well understood, although the use of pesticides on agricultural land could be one of the causes. So to remedy the problem, a group of scientists is experimenting with alternatives, including drones that fly from flower to flower to spread pollen.
The latest experiment comes from Japan where a team of researchers at the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science, in Tsukuba, was looking for new applications for a sticky substance called ionic liquid gel that has unusual physical properties. The researchers, in order to create their artificial pollinator, bought some $100 drones on Amazon, they – in a very homemade way – taped a bit of horsehair underneath the “flying” device and sprinkled it with this gel. The drones were able to pick up and then release the pollen grains.
Bee Death
(Taken from Press Release)
The researchers flew the drones first at the male parts of a Japanese lily and then on the female parts. This is the first time a drone has pollinated a flower, explains Eijiro Miyako, project leader. The invention is not yet able to replace bees and bumblebees, according to Joe Traynor, a beekeeper in California. The almond industry in the state of California alone requires 1.8 million hives containing about 35 billion bees to pollinate 900 thousand acres of trees and about three trillion flowers. “I don’t see any technology that could replace bees,” Traynor says. Bees, lots of bees, are necessary for pollination, but if their numbers were to decline further, Traynor continues, we would need alternatives, and fast. In parts of China, for example, bees have completely disappeared, and orchards are already being hand-pollinated by workers who climb trees with long brushes to treat each flower.
More sophisticated drones are needed
This Japanese “pollinator” drone will never be as efficient as a person with a brush. A lily, with its protruding organs, was an easy test compared to the rest of the plant world. “It is impossible to replace bees with a manual drone,” Miyako confesses. He is convinced, however, that it will be possible to pollinate plants outdoors with a drone, but with a model equipped with high-resolution cameras, GPS, and artificial intelligence, all features that could not be added to such an inexpensive flying robot.