Türkiye’s Middle East Technical University (METU) has been honored with an award for its pioneering “robot bees” project, aimed at supporting real bees threatened by extinction worldwide. The project also includes a system for monitoring hives with artificial intelligence.
The “Roboroyale Project” from METU was chosen as one of the top two projects out of 13 for the Edge of Government Award at the World Governments Summit held in the United Arab Emirates. The summit, which took place last week, gathered 25 world leaders and heads of state.
Erol Sahin, director of the Center for Robotics and Artificial Intelligence (ROMER) at METU, told Anadolu that the project started two years ago. It involves an international consortium comprising METU-ROMER, Durham University, Czech Technical University, and the University of Graz, with a research and development team of 20 members.
Sahin emphasized the critical role of bees in maintaining ecosystem balance. “If bees were to disappear, the entire ecosystem would face the threat of collapse,” he said. The project aims to create new-generation beehives equipped with the latest technologies.
One of the project’s key innovations is an AI-based system that monitors the inside of a hive 24/7, tracking the health of the bees, including the queen bee. Additionally, the team has developed micro-robot bees that mimic worker bees and can externally feed and control the queen bee. These robots can clean, feed, and maintain the hive, aiming to improve the overall health of the bee colony.
