Researchers at the University of Tampere in Finland have developed a robot that can act as an artificial pollinator. The equipment takes advantage of the movement of the winds and the direction of lights to float in the air, with various biomimetic features.

"[The robot] can be powered and controlled by a light source, such as a laser beam or LED," explained Hao Zeng, leader of the research group – the light can be used to control takeoff, landing and structure shape. The expert also pointed out that, in proof-of-concept experiments, he demonstrated significant potential for "realistic applications" suitable for agricultural pollination.

The expectation is that, in the future, the small machine can transport pollen to specific areas that require pollination of plants. To do this, scientists plan to improve the sensitivity of the material and improve the structure of the equipment, so that it can be equipped with microelectronic devices, including GPS, sensors and biochemical compounds. Another challenge is to have precise control of the landing site.

The Next Web portal adds that the equipment can also manually adapt to the direction and strength of the wind, changing its shape. Thanks to a stable generation of separate vortex rings, robots can also make long-distance wind-assisted trips.