Japan saves the world: develops tiny drones to pollinate flowers
A pocket-sized drone could be the answer to a growing threat to our world's flora: the decreasing population of honeybees. Japanese researchers have successfully developed tiny drones, which are capable of pollinating flowers. This groundbreaking, artificial pollinator comes from Eijiro Miyako, a chemist at the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology in Tsukuba, Japan. Horsehair bristles are attached to the remote-controlled drones, which are capable of coating them with a special gel. The gel enables these tiny drones to gather pollen from flowers and similarly to honeybees, distribute them.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lnZnA7FSbIU
As honeybees are responsible for pollinating many types of flowers and even our favorite types of fruits, vegetables, and nuts, they play an important role in our world's flora. However, since their population is in decline, a potential future crisis seems to be inevitable. This is the main reason why Miyako and his team decided to look for alternative solutions. The new solution can provide an alternative treatment to the declining population. Miyako's team is dedicated to creating a fully automated, smart pollination solution, that relies both on GPS and artificial intelligence - making it possible for pollination to take place automatically.
Even though the project is still in an early phase, it still seems to be one of the best innovations out there. Miyako's team does not simply work to innovate, but also to give hope regarding our future fauna. We are sure that with its continued development, this project will be something worth buzzing about!