The latest buzz at the University of Maryland? Tiny, autonomous drones that harness the power of artificial intelligence to work together.

In this case, the minute robots could one day provide backup to pollinators like honey bees, potentially securing the world’s food crops as these critical insect species face challenges from fungal disease, pesticides and climate change. The project is led by doctoral student Chahat Deep Singh M.E. ’18 of the Perception and Robotics Group, led by Professor Yiannis Aloimonos and Research Scientist Cornelia Fermüller.

In the latest installment of “Enterprise: University of Maryland Research Stories,” robotics researchers show how UMD ingenuity in a key area of computer science could help overcome a looming grand challenge for the world.

Video by Bethany Swain