Polybee: Providing Drone-Powered Pollination Solution

Case Code: BSTR689 Case Length: 9 Pages Period: 2018-2025 Pub Date: 2025 Teaching Note: Available

Price: Rs.300 Organization : Polybee Industry : Technology & Communications Countries : Singapore Themes: Emerging Technologies, Artificial Intelligence

Abstract Case Intro 1 Case Intro 2 Excerpts

Excerpts

About Polybee

The idea of Polybee dates back to 2018 when Siddharth, who had a background in technology and a passion for solving some of agriculture’s most pressing problems, was working with National University of Singapore (NUS) as a research scientist. While working at the NUS’s Lean LaunchPad on drone powered automation for pollination, Siddharth realized the profound impact that the declining bee population could have on global food production. The rise of drone technology, coupled with the fact that pollination was a key factor in crop yields technology set Siddharth thinking and gave him the idea of replicating the pollination process performed by bees through a technology-driven mechanism. (Refer to Exhibit III) Polybee was thus formed and was officially incorporated in 2019..

Polybee at Work

In 2023, Polybee collaborated with the UK Agri-Tech Centre and Angus Soft Fruits on a project titled “Precision Pollination for Higher Strawberry Productivity and Quality.” Funded by Innovate UK, the initiative aimed to enhance strawberry yields and quality in the UK by addressing pollination challenges in controlled environments like poly tunnels and glasshouses. Commenting on the collaboration, Katie Clark, Project Manager, UK Agri-Tech Centre, said, “I am thrilled..

Issues and Challenges

Although Polybee claimed to be a feasible alternative for bees, the claim was debated among experts in various fields. Some experts felt that though drones had shown some promise in controlled environments, they lacked the efficiency and versatility of natural pollinators. Some experts expressed concern over the technological challenges drones might face in replicating the intricate behavior and efficiency of bees in pollination. Others pointed out that while drones could be programmed for specific tasks, they were not capable of the adaptability and sensitivity required for effective pollination across different plant species..

Exhibits

Exhibit I: Percentage of Global Food Production Dependent on Pollinators
Exhibit II: Scale of Pollinator Dependence of Crops
Exhibit III: Bumble Bee Vs Polybee Drone
Exhibit IV: Polybee’s Vision and Mission
Exhibit V: Phenomenal Phenotyping

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