Wireless robotic flowers

Kamiel developed wireless robotic flowers: “The idea is that other researchers can easily replicate them, so everyone can build on each other’s work.”

Kamiel Debeuckelaere (32) won the Flemish Thesis Prize in 2021 for his master’s thesis in which he developed wireless robotic flowers to support his supervisor’s research. He now uses those flowers himself as an FWO PhD student in the Ecology, Evolution and Biodiversity Conservation department at KU Leuven, where he conducts fundamental research on bumblebees.

What originally brought you to FabLab Leuven?

Kamiel:My master’s thesis. That was five years ago. At the time, I ended up working with Maribel Pozo, a Spanish postdoc, now a professor, who conducts research on bumblebees and pollination. Her work focuses primarily on the properties of nectar and how they affect pollinators. This kind of research often involves observing bumblebees on flowers and recording observations, or making videos that you can review later. Maribel was looking for a way to automate that process. She turned it into a master’s thesis in the hope that a student would take it on. That student turned out to be me. The thesis description sounded fun, although I hadn’t really considered how technical it would be. I think she deliberately left that out. Otherwise, she might not have found a biology student crazy enough to take it on. For my thesis, I first sought help from the ICTS department at KU Leuven. There, together with Dirk Janssens, I figured out the electronics for the robot flower. For the assembly and the casing, he advised me to check out FabLab. I really wanted to 3D print, but I’d never done it before.

What exactly was the robot flower project?

Kamiel: Some simpler robotic flowers already existed. We wanted to make them a bit more complex so they could automatically detect whether a bumblebee was inside the flower and how long it stayed there. With the current version, we can even identify which specific bumblebee it is based on a tag on its thorax. We also wanted the robotic flowers to automatically dispense nectar. Natural flowers contain very little nectar, only a few microliters. Artificial systems often have a large reservoir, which discourages bumblebees or other visitors from moving between different flowers. So we needed a system that automatically replenishes the nectar in very small amounts. We also found it important to have a wireless system so the flowers could easily be placed anywhere, such as in a greenhouse for experiments. Power-wise, that’s simple, you just need to insert a battery. The main challenge was data transmission. We wanted to be able to view the data in real time during the experiments. To do this, we placed a small antenna in the flowers that works with Internet of Things (IoT). It uses very little energy because it operates via radio signals and does not use Wi-Fi. The data is sent to an antenna in small data packets every ten minutes. The university has several antennas in Leuven that receive these packets and then transmit the data to your computer via the internet. This way, you can see what’s happening in real time, as well as whether there are any issues with, for example, the flower or the battery.

At FabLab, I assembled all the parts of the flower and was able to use a good soldering iron. I then made the flower casings using the 3D printer. During the year that I worked on my master’s thesis, I made twenty robotic flowers, so that was quite a bit of work.

What surprised you about your experience at FabLab?

Kamiel: I was most surprised by how friendly everyone was. I didn’t know anything when I first got there. I’d walked past FabLab many times before and thought it looked cool, but I always assumed it was for engineering students or architects who needed to make models. It never occurred to me that it was for everyone. My thesis gave me the push I needed to finally go inside. You can just walk in there and do your thing. The first time, I had arranged to meet up with Marc and Thomas. I’d never 3D printed before. They explained everything to me and helped me get started. I could ask them anything at any time.

Did FabLab change the way you think?

Kamiel: Yes, whereas we used to put together more makeshift setups, I now easily think: I can actually make it exactly the way I want, so that the setup looks nicer and is always consistent. When you put things together yourself, there’s always some variation. Now it looks more professional. Colleagues often think: Is that really necessary? Can’t we just recycle something and put it together ourselves? But then I think: if we can 3D-print it, why not? My PhD supervisor, Tom Wenseleers, also goes to FabLab now to make test setups. Recently he printed a piece of honeycomb there for an experiment with queen larvae.

Has FabLab made a difference in your work and the path you’ve taken?

Kamiel: Definitely. The robotic flowers I made at FabLab have brought me a lot, let’s put it that way. Not just in my master’s thesis, where I created the flowers, but also in my PhD, where I’m actually using them now. Without FabLab, I simply wouldn’t have done any of what I’ve done so far. 3D printing has even become one of my hobbies. I’ve now bought my own printer so I can experiment even more, but without FabLab, I would never have gotten into it.

What has FabLab brought you?

Kamiel: Without FabLab, I don’t think I would have won the Thesis Prize for my master’s thesis. Although I do put it into perspective. It’s just an award for the best thesis in Flanders, at least according to the jury and based on the theses that were submitted. But it’s still a nice recognition. I also wouldn’t be pursuing a PhD without FabLab. I received a personal PhD fellowship from the Flemish government. Being able to bring my 3D-printed robot flower was a nice bonus that helped convince the jury of my project. I’m pursuing my PhD through the FWO, with KU Leuven as my host institution.

How do you see the future of your wireless robotic flowers?

Kamiel: That’s a good question. I built them, but they belong to KU Leuven. So I have to leave them here after I finish my PhD. I can easily make new ones, of course, but officially they have to stay here. They might be used for a new project by someone else. People have asked me if I’d like to patent them, but they’re not thát special. I think an engineer could make them ten times better. It could all be made more compact, but I specifically designed it this way so people without experience could also replicate them themselves. That’s the concept. The idea is that other researchers can also easily use the robot flowers. That’s the best part about it. It’s also the philosophy of FabLab. Anyone can use it, and I’d be more than happy for them to do so. A while back, I saw a paper from the US that used my flower as inspiration and built a mechanical crab spider on it. That’s cool to see. I’ve also drawn inspiration from Finnish researchers myself. My robot flower is actually a new, wireless version of theirs. Everyone builds on each other’s work.

I’m using the robotic flowers to conduct fundamental research on bumblebees. It’s learning for the sake of learning, seeing how everything works. But later on, this could lead to practical applications or certain concepts, potentially on how to protect bumblebees. The jury for the Flemish Thesis Prize had the idea of turning it into a citizen science project. But that’s still a step further. It’s not as simple as they thought. For now, it’s not technically possible anyway, but I’m also not sure how informative it would be with the current version. It is, however, a further step that can be considered.

How do you see your own future?

Kamiel: I don’t know yet. That’s a tough question. I really enjoy research, but the academic world is tough, and I don’t know if there’s a place for me. It’s like a pyramid. With every step you take upward, there’s less room. On top of that, the government is constantly cutting funding for science, so there are fewer and fewer grants, and the competition is getting very intense. Above all, I want to find a job I enjoy, one where I can combine biological research with the fun little projects I’ve discovered through FabLab. I’d love to contribute ideas, help out, and build things for experiments. That doesn’t necessarily have to be within the academic world. Most of all, I want to be able to combine everything.

Do you have any advice for students who want to create something?

Kamiel: I’d say: just go for it. Everyone at FabLab is super friendly. I think they’re open to anything, or at least to a lot of things. So if you have a wild idea, go for it. You’ll learn as you go, at FabLab and with a few YouTube tutorials, you can get pretty far. And with AI, it’s only getting easier. Code that would otherwise have taken you a week to write now gets written for you in no time. Anything is possible. Once you get started, it also becomes easier and easier.