Bees seem to be disappearing as of the last few years. Through reasons still not fully known, the decline in their population create a harsh reaction to crops. With no one to pollinate hectares upon hectares of plant life, a billion-dollar yearly industry is in danger of crashing.
So for now, a replacement to these busy bees may come at an unlikely source: drones.
Drones may not be the solution to the bee disappearance, but they may help with pollination. A New York-based company may have found the key, or at least a piece for one.
Introducing the Dropcopter:
The Dropcopter drone is advertised to be capable of spreading pollen to a large area. This can be a solution to the problem, albeit a temporary one. The drone is to test its capabilities on a massive Apple Orchard in Lafayette. The orchard itself spans at 300 acres.
The drone can accurately distribute pollen from the source to its target destinations using an AI program. This means that the drone is both autonomous and can be programmed in advance. For its speed and efficiency, it can be quite impressive. It can cover an area of 40 acres per hour, which isn’t bad considering they are doing the job of insects with countless years of evolution. The number can even go higher if the drone continues its task through the night. If the drones works overnight, it can do double the area. Interestingly enough, the drone has the advantage over its bee counterparts in this regard. Bees do not work at night, but drones can. This means double the coverage from one single source.
The idea sounds great in theory, but we still need bees to return to their former numbers in the long run. Of course, drones can help with the workload while we figure things out. It can be quite a challenge; a vital part of the ecosystem for countless years suddenly disappearing. What the drone can do for now is to slow down the effects of the bee disappearance. It can be quite ridiculous to think or even consider that drones can fully replace these hard working busy bodies.
