Robot Bees Invented to Provide Pollination as Honeybees Disappear

With honeybees on the decline because of Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) and Varroa mites, a virus-transmitting parasite, Harvard engineering and applied sciences professor, Robert Wood invented Robobees, bee-size robots "inspired by the biology of a bee and the insect's hive behavior." One of the goals for the robots is the pollination of fields, thereby assisting in the bee crisis: "The collaborators envision that the Nature-inspired research could lead to a greater understanding of how to artificially mimic the collective behavior and "intelligence" of a bee colony; foster novel methods for designing and building an electronic surrogate nervous system able to deftly sense and adapt to changing environments; and advance work on the construction of small-scale flying mechanical devices."...more