Can Bee Bee Bee be pollinating flowers?

Pollination plays a very important role both in the natural environment and in human agricultural activities, providing a daily food chain.

In North America alone, bee pollination has helped produce at least 90 commercial crops, including apples, blueberries, watermelons and broccoli.

A final year student at Savannah University of Fine Arts and Design wants to raise people's awareness of the significance of bees in everyday life. Therefore, she designed a " robot bee " that could perform pollination like real bees.

Plan Bee is a " personal robot bee " ( controlled through a smart device) designed to mimic the way bees pollinate flowers and plants. It is similar to the way the bee carries pollen from one place to another, the drone will take chalk from the stamen to bring it to another pistil to make it cross-pollinated. .

Industrial design student Anna Haldewang developed the idea of ​​Plan Bee in a product design class, after the professor asked her to create a " sustainable device " that stimulates plant growth. grow.

" You will need sun, water, soil and cross-pollination to be able to do this, " said Haldewang, 24, a senior student at Savannah College of Art and Design in Georgia.

During the study, pollination made her think of bees, Haldewang was impressed by the way honey was created. " I can't imagine what will happen if the bees disappear ," Haldewang said. It reminded her that she needed to create an educational product, to help solve both class work and raise awareness about the role of bees in the agricultural food system.

"Robot bee" prototype

Haldewang developed a Plan Bee prototype, a design that fits neatly in the palm of the hand between gold and black, it looks like a bee. Instead of turning it into a real insect, Haldewang only wanted to introduce this device with the essential characteristics of bees ( pollination ).

Pollination of robot bees

Haldewang created more than 50 designs and changed before making the final version. The device is made up of sponges ( to keep the weight as light as possible ), the plastic outer shell and a pair of propellers to keep it suspended in the air. Each drone of 6 parts will have small holes underneath, through which the device will suck pollen while hovering above the flowers. Pollen will be kept in a small chamber, then thrown out to form cross pollination.

" When you reverse the prototype, it looks like a flower, " Haldewang added, which is how she wanted to emphasize the role of a flower in pollination.

Plan Bee is being implemented in the early stages. Haldewang is still in the process of technical refining. She also applied for a patent and hopes the product will be available in the market within the next two years.

Her original plan was to turn this device into an educational tool. " It would be great if people use this device in their yard and it can even create a garden . With real bees, pollination takes place that most people cannot see. (because they are too small.) With this device, you can absolutely show your children how the pollination process takes place , 'Haldewang said.

Plan Bee is one of 1,600 new inventions of SCAD design students ( SAVANNAH COLLEGE OF ART AND DESIGN - American Study in Art and Design ) presented every quarter, as part of their subjects . Victor Ermoli, the principal of SCAD's design and founding school, and president Paula Wallace scrutinized every potential project in marketing and collaboration with industries. In addition, each year, the school also conducts 30 research projects on technology, cooperating with companies such as Microsoft ( MSFT, Tech30 ), HP ( HP ), AT&T ( T, Tech30 ), Dell and Mattel ( MAT ).

Haldewang's invention of the bee robot is truly outstanding, Ermoli said: " It's great that this design can explain itself and offer a smart solution ."

But is robot Bee Plan Bee feasible? According to experts, this is really an excellent design, which helps provide a smart solution. It can be used in large-scale aquaculture, even for hydroponic crops.

Refer to some more articles:

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2. Microsoft Research is creating an AI capable of writing code in seconds
3. 10 unexplained scientific discoveries

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