Sticky, insect-sized drones could act as pollinators

MIAMI – Small drones coated with horsehair and a sticky gel could one day help pollinate crops and offset the costly loss of bee populations worldwide, researchers in Japan say. The miniature robots, described in the journal Chem, are a long way from being deployed in the field, but researchers say they may offer a partial solution to the loss of bees due to disease and climate change. "The findings, which will have applications for agriculture and robotics, among others, could lead to the development of artificial pollinators and help counter the problems caused by declining honeybee populations," said lead author Eijiro Miyako, a chemist at the Nanomaterials Research Institute in the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST). In 2007, Miyako began experimenting with liquids that could be used as electrical conductors. One failed attempt produced a sticky gel like hair wax that he relegated to a storage cabinet for almost a decade. The gel was rediscovered during a lab cleanup, and its unchanged nature gave Miyako an idea.