redefining the Future of Agriculture

Embrace the future of farming with Cuprina Pollination. Our innovative on-demand insect pollination solutions are tailored for indoor farmers, ensuring maximum crop yield and quality.

Our mission is to empower farmers to grow fruiting crops indoors naturally, enhancing sustainability and productivity in modern agriculture.

Our system is a comprehensive and integrated solution designed to revolutionize pollination in an indoor setting. It encompasses:

  • Our technology accurately detects the precise moment when flowers are ready for pollination, ensuring optimal timing for maximum effectiveness.

  • We provide a secure caged arena or isolated environment where alternative insect pollinators can be released, creating an ideal setting for effective pollination without disrupting the indoor farming ecosystem.

  • Specialized lighting illuminates flowers that are ready for pollination, guiding our alternative pollinators directly to their target with precision.

  • Farmers can easily order and receive alternative insect pollinators (Lucilia Cuprina) whenever needed, ensuring a consistent and timely supply for continuous pollination.

  • Our system includes an automated mechanism that seamlessly releases alternative pollinators into designated areas, streamlining the process and reducing manual intervention.

  • Once pollination is complete, our system efficiently recaptures the alternative pollinators, ensuring they can be reused or safely removed, maintaining a balanced and sustainable environment.

how our solution works

release

Equipped with sensors to monitor and control temperature, humidity, UV levels, and other critical elements, our microprocessor plays a key role in ensuring optimal system performance.

The data collected by these sensors enables the automation of processes, ensuring smooth and efficient operation.

pollinate

Insects depend on specific wavelengths from the sun to locate flowers.

Such wavelengths are absent in indoor farm settings and need to be artificially recreated.

UV LEDs can mimic specific wavelengths of the sun and provoke insects to behave as they do in the wild.

recapture

Our technology not only aids the detection of flowers by insects indoors for pollination, but also have the secondary ability to recapture the insects efficiently.

click below to watch our demo video

Discover Exciting Results from Our Republic Polytechnic collaboration

flower illumination.

Illuminating flowers is a crucial aspect of the Cuprina Blow fly pollination process. By using UV-A LEDs to shine light onto the bioVE+ board and reflect it onto the flowers, we create an environment that mimics natural sunlight conditions.

This simulation is vital as it attracts insect pollinators like Cuprina Blow flies, which are naturally drawn to flowers glowing under specific UV-A wavelengths.

By providing the correct spectral wavelengths and intensities, we significantly increase the chances of Cuprina Blow flies locating and pollinating the flowers, ensuring successful pollination.

We managed to illuminate several different species of flowers utilising the bioVE+ and the UV-A LEDs. The combinations achieved noticeable illumination.

Before

After

Pollen Coating.

When examined under a microscope, the majority of bristles on the mandibles and front legs of Cuprina blow flies exposed to UV-A LEDs showed significant pollen deposition from strawberry flowers.

In contrast, flies subjected to only white growth light (without UV-A LEDs) displayed pollen coverage in a limited region on the front right leg.

This showcases the power of our patented lighting technology in directing pollinators to the flowers that are ready for pollination, ensuring successful pollination every time.

Under the influence of UV-A LEDs and bioVE+, Cuprina blow flies demonstrated a strong positive phototaxis response to the flowers, reacting almost immediately when the UV-A lights were activated.

This rapid response is crucial for efficient pollination, as the flies are naturally attracted to the illuminated flowers, ensuring they focus their efforts on the target areas where pollination is needed most.

In contrast, without the guidance of UV-A LEDs and under regular white growth light, the behavior of the Cuprina blow flies was markedly different. Instead of honing in on the flowers, the flies tended to land randomly on leaves and other non-flower parts of the plants.

By guiding the pollinators with UV-A light, we create a more efficient and effective pollination process, leading to higher crop yields and better quality produce.

Fly Visitation to Flowers.

without UVA LEDs

with UVA LEDs

Fruit Yield and Quality.

Cuprina Blow Fly Pollination

Hand Pollination

At an optimal ratio of 4 Cuprina Blow flies per flower, the fruit yield significantly increases by 34.78%. This remarkable increase highlights the efficiency and precision of our pollination process.

Additionally, Cuprina Blow fly Pollination surpasses Hand Pollination 2.85% in terms of Fruit Quality and BRIX Level (Fruit Sweetness Quality).

By ensuring that more flowers are effectively pollinated, the overall quality and marketability of the produce are significantly enhanced.

cost-effectiveness

and time efficiency.

Hand Pollination entails continuous labor costs, while Cuprina Blow fly Pollination requires an upfront investment in bioVE+ UV lighting technology. Despite the higher initial cost, this investment proves to be cost-effective over the technology's lifespan.

Additionally, hand pollination requires skilled human intervention, a capability that takes time to acquire. During this learning period, lower fruit yield efficiency is expected from human pollinators until they achieve the necessary skill level.

In stark contrast, Cuprina Blow fly Pollination leverages automation, eliminating the need for manual labor and allowing for the concurrent servicing of numerous shelves. This method significantly reduces the pollination timeline, capping at just 2 hours per shelf, regardless of the total number of shelves involved.

Funded Research Collaboration between Cuprina Pollination Pte Ltd and Urban Agriculture Centre of Innovation (UACOI), Republic Polytechnic

Pollination with UVA LEDs

Pollination without UVA LEDs

Our patents

patent 1 - Arthropod Lure or Repellent, Arthropod Trap, and Lighting Device

Patent No. PCT/SG2020/050246

Uses single wavelength UV LEDs to activate specific fluoroboric surfaces, creating a second wavelength of light. Together, both wavelengths cause a strong positive (or negative) phototaxis response in insects.

patent 2 - Apparatus for Indoor Pollination, Indoor Pollination Systems and Method for Indoor Pollination

Patent No. SP104119SG

Adaptation of the background technology in Patent 1 for the specific purpose of initiating on-demand insect pollination in a controlled agriculture environment.