We can now pollinate entire greenhouses using nothing but invisible sound waves.
This system uses focused ultrasound to shake pollen loose from tomato plants with 96% accuracy. It removes the need for expensive bee colonies or manual labor, paving the way for fully automated indoor farming at scale.
Design and Assessment of an Ultrasonic Pollination System for Greenhouse Tomatoes
SSRN · 6569390
This work presents the design and experimental assessment of a portable, non-contact ultrasonic pollination device intended for greenhouse tomatoes. The system uses airborne ultrasound focused by phased arrays to induce localized floral vibrations and trigger pollen release without physical contact. The proposed prototype combines two synchronized open-hardware phased-array modules (2 × 256 elements, 40 kHz carrier) mounted on a handheld frame. Electronic phase control enables focal-point steeri