Robotic Bees Could Support Vertical Farms Today and Astronauts Tomorrow

Photo caption: Strawberries grow at the Ferme d’Hiver vertical farm in Vaudreuil, Quebec, Canada. Photo credit: Graham Hughes/Bloomberg via Getty Images. Article by Molly Glick. Scientific American – July 17, 2023.

In vertical farming operations, artificial lights and artificial intelligence coax plants, stacked densely on towering shelves rather than spread over a field, to grow indoors with minimal human intervention. That’s the goal. But despite lofty promises of bringing fresh produce to local markets, these systems have not yet provided a climate-friendly way to feed the world’s growing population. Can robotic “bees,”  a buzzy technology straight out of science fiction, rescue these high-tech operations? […]

Click here to view original web page at www.scientificamerican.com