Russian scientists aim to launch “robo-bees” in 2019

Bees in the wild are facing grave threats to their existence, and while some of the reasons include pesticides and poor nutrition, the mystery has not been completely solved.

Today, most farmers have to buy or rent bee colonies, which contributes to a rise in food prices, according to the U.S. Bee Informed Partnership. American beekeepers have lost an estimated 40 percent of their managed honeybee colonies.

Russian scientists at the Tomsk Polytechnic University (TPU) now offer an alternative: robo-bees. Researchers plan to launch the project in 2019, and the size of the prototypes will be at least seven times bigger than real bees, which means that they’ll be the size of a human palm.