AWARD YEAR
2019
CATEGORY
Work
GOALS
Life On Land
KEYWORDS
bees
COUNTRY
Australia
DESIGNED BY
Michael Candy
WEBSITE
https://michaelcandy.com/SYNTHETIC-POLLENIZER
Synthetic Polleniser
A system of robotic flowers designed to be safer for bees to pollinate than real fauna.
It is common knowledge that bee population is suffering worldwide due to pesticides, climate change and Varroa mites. Synthetic Polleniser is a system of robotic flowers, designed to be safer for bees to pollinate than real fauna. The robotic flowers are all equipped with pollen and nectar. They are designed to be installed alongside real plants, to encourage bees to pollinate. Each one features a synthetic stamen and 3D-printed petals based on those of the rapeseed species, to trick the bees into thinking they are real plants. The flowers are connected to a complex network of motors and tubes, which push a man-made nectar solution to the surface of the flowers to attract the bees.