This Dandelion-Inspired "Fairy" Robot Could One Day Give Natural Pollinators a Helping Hand

Researchers at Tampere University, Aalto University, and the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems have designed an ultra-light robotic "fairy" that, they hope, could lend a hand to overstressed pollinators and help plant life thrive.

"Superior to its natural counterparts, this artificial seed is equipped with a soft actuator," project lead Hao Zeng explains of the robot, which is inspired by the dandelion seed. "The actuator is made of light-responsive liquid crystalline elastomer, which induces opening or closing actions of the bristles upon visible light excitation."

Dubbed the FAIRY, somewhat tortuously expanding into the Flying Aero-robot Based on Light-Responsive Materials Assembly, the seed-inspired robot lacks the ability to travel under its own steam. Instead, it's designed to ride the wind — and can be controlled by light. "The fairy can be powered and controlled by a light source," Zeng explains, "such as a laser beam or LED."

The fairy-bot is built from stimuli-responsive polymers, and is designed to be light in weight and with a high porosity — just like the dandelion seed that inspired its creation. Exposure to light triggers a liquid crystalline elastomer, formed into a soft actuator, which opens or closes the bristles — allowing for basic steering.

There's a way to go before the fairy-bot is ready for field use, including efforts to scale it up for carrying micro-electronic payloads and switching out the artificial light control for sunlight power, but the team is confident the design has promise — including for taking over from stressed natural pollinators like bees. "It sounds like science fiction," Zeng admits, "but the proof-of-concept experiments included in our research show that the robot we have developed provides an important step towards realistic applications suitable for artificial pollination.

"This would have a huge impact on agriculture globally," Zeng continues of the FAIRY project's potential, "since the loss of pollinators due to global warming has become a serious threat to biodiversity and food production."

The team's latest work has been published in the journal Advanced Science under open-access terms, while the FAIRY project itself will continue until late 2026 thanks to funding from the Academy of Finland.

Main article image courtesy of Jianfeng Yang/Tampere University.