A research team from West Virginia University has developed a pollination robot called Stickbug to address the issue of endangered pollinators, such as bees, moths, butterflies, and flies. Stickbug is designed for greenhouse environments and incorporates a Kiwi drive system to move easily between narrow aisles. It has a probe and sorter to identify target flowers and uses an end effector with a felt-covered tip for contact pollination.
Stickbug features 6 arms and controllers, allowing it to pollinate multiple flowers simultaneously and perform tasks independently. The robot focuses on precision, flexibility, and access to resources, such as data on black raspberries. In initial testing, Stickbug was able to conduct 1.5 pollination attempts per minute with a success rate of around 50%.
The research team plans to conduct further tests with real trees during the flowering season to evaluate Stickbug’s effectiveness. If successful, Stickbug could provide a promising solution to compensate for the decline of natural pollinators and contribute to global food security. The robot has the potential to make a significant impact on pollination efforts and help protect essential plant species.