Stickbug, a robot developed by researchers at West Virginia University, is a promising solution to the decline of natural pollinators such as bees, moths, butterflies and flies. It has six arms that allow it to pollinate multiple flowers simultaneously at a rate of 1.5 per minute in greenhouse environments. The robot’s Kiwi drive system enables it to move through narrow aisles and its probe and sorter identify target flowers for pollination.
Stickbug is equipped with controllers that allow it to perform different tasks independently, focusing on precision, flexibility and access to resources. Its end effector with a felt-covered tip simulates the pollination process by conducting contact pollination. Initial testing of the prototype on an artificial black raspberry tree showed a success rate of about 50% in pollinating as many flowers as possible within five minutes.
Further research will involve testing Stickbug on real trees during the flowering season to assess its effectiveness in real-world scenarios. If successful, it could offer an alternative to natural pollinators and contribute significantly to global food security by mitigating the risks associated with declining pollinator populations and ensuring continued pollination of plants for food production.
