Can robotics support pollination where bees can’t survive?

[00:00:00]Because the flower to fruit cycle for some plants [music] is so short, some lasting only two weeks, the team uses fake flowers to test and train stick bug.

[00:00:10]>> After training on the artificial flower, it will also detect the real flowers.

[00:00:14]>> But I actually took a whole year's worth of data studying a single plant, just watching it grow, bloom through its entire life cycle, just to have enough data so we can pollinate these flowers.

[00:00:25]What do you think, Gui? You pretty proud of your students here?

[00:00:28]>> Oh, yeah, they're amazing. This is good engineering.

[00:00:30]>> [music] >> It makes you appreciate what bees are doing.

[00:00:32]>> Oh, yes, it's really hard. Yeah.

[00:00:34]>> How important is it what bees are doing?

[00:00:36]>> Uh, extremely important. I read about like the one in three bites our food. It relies on the pollinators.

[00:00:41]>> One in three bites of everything we eat had something to do with bees.

[00:00:45]>> Exactly. [music] >> My favorite part of this project is they aren't trying to replace bees. They're mimicking what bees [music] do in spaces where bees can't survive. Gui, you and your neighbor are so visionary to have thought about how you can mix nature with robotics and do something that's so productive as this. You're a true visionary. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for showing me the buzz on the pollinating robot.