Robotics for crop pollination: recent advances and future direction

Abstract

There is great interest in alternative pollination strategies for crop production in the face of climate change and perennial threats to the traditional pollination mechanisms. This review explores the potential for robotic pollination in response to these challenges to crop fertilization and global food production. Herein we describe the viability of novel robotic systems equipped with artificial intelligence and machine vision, as alternatives to traditional insect pollination. We examine the technological progress and challenges for both aerial and ground-based robotic artificial pollination systems and emphasize the need for continued research and development in this area to ensure sustainable agricultural productivity. This paper highlights the importance of robotic pollination as a practical and environmentally sustainable approach in modern agriculture, amidst burgeoning ecological threats and a dwindling agricultural workforce.