  This research presents a novel, robotic pollination system designed for
targeted pollination of apple flowers in modern fruiting wall orchards.
Developed in response to the challenges of global colony collapse disorder,
climate change, and the need for sustainable alternatives to traditional
pollinators, the system utilizes a commercial manipulator, a vision system, and
a spray nozzle for pollen application. Initial tests in April 2022 pollinated
56% of the target flower clusters with at least one fruit with a cycle time of
6.5 s. Significant improvements were made in 2023, with the system accurately
detecting 91% of available flowers and pollinating 84% of target flowers with a
reduced cycle time of 4.8 s. This system showed potential for precision
artificial pollination that can also minimize the need for labor-intensive
field operations such as flower and fruitlet thinning.
