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ETSU biologist demonstrates 3D‑printed robotic flowers to study pollinator behavior
Summary
Assistant Professor Melissa Whitaker described a lab platform of 3D‑printed 'robotic flowers' that record bumblebee visits and permit controlled tests of floral chemistry; the project is funded by the ETSU College of Arts and Sciences startup funds and involves graduate and undergraduate students.
Assistant Professor Melissa Whitaker presented the Board of Trustees with an overview of her lab’s research using 3D‑printed 'robotic flowers' to study pollinator behavior and the effects of non‑nutritional floral chemicals.
"Bees are critically important to our global economy and our food security," Whitaker told the board, summarizing the motivation for her lab’s work. She explained that floral nectar contains not only sugars but also compounds such as caffeine, nicotine and, in experimental tests, morphine, and that those compounds can alter pollinator learning and visitation.
Whitaker described the lab’s platform: interchangeable 3D‑printed floral displays mounted on hollow stems, motion‑triggered microcameras, a nectar reservoir that can be spiked with test compounds, and single‑board computers that log visit times and durations. Graduate students Skyler Mathison and Josh Foley have driven the project’s design and testing; engineering collaborator David Zollinger helped integrate sensors and electronics. Whitaker said the design was iteratively refined based on bee responses and that bumblebees readily learned to use the devices.
Current experiments use the robotic flowers to examine whether small quantities of compounds such as caffeine and nicotine enhance pollinator learning, and Whitaker said her students are also investigating morphine’s effects. She described planned extensions that would combine the flower arrays with machine‑vision tracking inside artificial nests to observe colony‑level consequences of chemical exposure.
Whitaker credited the ETSU College of Arts and Sciences for funding the research through her startup account and thanked students and collaborators. Trustees asked questions about sourcing bees and tagging methods; Whitaker said some bees are purchased through agricultural suppliers and that her team uses small tags and off‑the‑shelf components to identify individuals. The board did not vote on the research presentation; it was an informational update.
