Could tiny drones be used for crop pollination? Worcester Polytechnic Institute Researcher Developing “RoboBees” to Combat a Declining Population of Pollinator Species
by DRONELIFE Staff Author Walker Robinson
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Researcher Nintin Sanket is working to develop a drone-based solution to the population decline of pollinating species all over the world. A 3rd of the world’s food relies on pollination from bees, yet they’re increasingly threatened by climate change and harmful agricultural practices[1]. Sanket and his team are developing a brand new technique to tackle this challenge, utilizing automated drones.
“Numerous conservationists are working to preserve bees. However the climate is changing pretty drastically, so we want alternatives as well, including other ways to pollinate things,” remarked Sanket.
Estimates suggest that half of North American and Hawaiian bee species are currently in decline, and nearly 1 / 4 are vulnerable to extinction[2]. If conservation alone cannot preserve pollinator populations, human interventions will probably be critical to supplementing pollination to satisfy the food production needs of the planet.
![](https://dronelife.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/NitinSanket-PeAR-1-300x180.jpeg)
PeAR Lab, RBE professor Nitin Sanket’s lab, which is known as PeAR (Perception and Autonomous Robotics Group)
Nintin Sanket is the Assistant Professor within the Department of Robotics Engineering at Worcester Polytechnic Institute[3]. His work on “RoboBees” began while he was still in graduate school, and his doctoral dissertation on the subject earned awards on the University of Maryland. Now, he works on a team of doctoral and master’s students to further hone the capabilities of their prototype “RoboBees”.
Probably the most recent prototype is a compact 4.7 inches across with 4 propellers. It houses a camera, rechargeable lithium battery, and computing system. Your entire pollination process is fully automated. The drone locates the flower, flies all the way down to collect pollen, after which moves onto the following flower. Sanket’s team now hopes to extend the drone’s agility, durability, efficiency, and flight time.
While Sanket estimates a completely robotic pollinating swarm remains to be a few years away, there are promising technological innovations happening all over the world that will lend themselves to his vision. Researchers at other institutes are finding mechanical solutions that will allow the drone to be lighter and faster than its current state, and Sanket’s own team are applying bee behavioral research within the automated drone’s programming.
The “RoboBee” would undoubtedly have quite a few alternative applications across a broad range of industries, but for now Sanket and his team are committed to using it to unravel a critical challenge facing the agricultural industry.
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