We all know the story about Bees or have at least heard through someone we know that the honeybee could possibly be declared an endangered species. This knowledge is really bad news to be honest. Honeybees are responsible for most of the pollinating work done behind the scenes to bring us our food. Einstein was reported to say “If the bee disappeared off the face of the Earth, man would only have four years left to live.”
Whether he actually said this or not is not in contention here, ultimately there is truth in this statement; without pollination there will be little food.
Right now there are scientists and biologists working on this very issue, doing their best to prevent the bees from dying out. Technologists may have come up with another option though, mechanical honeybees!
Small winged robots have been created at Harvard Uni to pollinate plants. Yes you read that correctly; The Robo bee.
These robotic counterparts are by no means nice to look at but they are self-directed and work as a group to complete missions. Developed through the need to fix the bee issue these little artificial critters can be called to arms for multiple uses. They can be used in search and rescue, pollination and surveillance (environment and people) to name a few.
These tiny guys are not necessarily the floral solution but could well give a helping hand and alleviate some of the strain on our overworked honeybees and hopefully prevent Colony Collapse Disorder.