Abstract: Earth’s ecosystems are facing a rapid decline in biodiversity, with honeybees —keystone pollinators critical to ecosystem stability— being among the most affected. The EU-funded RoboRoyale project addresses this crisis by integrating advanced robotics and AI to augment the beehive, enabling observation at unprecedented resolutions and scales. Featured on the cover of Science Robotics and receiving the 6th Edge of Government Award at the World Government Summit in 2024 our system tracks the Queen’s behaviors, colony efficiency, comb states, and long-term foraging activities, while advancing micro-robotic intervention capabilities to support hive health. In this talk, I will discuss the challenges of developing this system, share key findings regarding complex social interactions, and explore the future potential of bio-hybrid research.

Bio: Erol Şahin is a Professor of Computer Engineering at Middle East Technical University (METU) and the founding Director of the Center for Robotics and AI (ROMER). Established with over 5 million Euros in funding, ROMER spans 25,000 square feet of state-of-the-art facilities, including prototyping workshops, specialized research arenas, and advanced robotic platforms. Dr. Şahin earned his PhD in Cognitive and Neural Systems from Boston University, following a BSc in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from Bilkent University and an MSc in Computer Engineering from METU. Before assuming his current position, he worked as postdoctoral researcher at the Université Libre de Bruxelles.   Between 2013 and 2015, Dr. Sahin spent two years at the Robotics Institute of Carnegie Mellon University during his sabbatical. His research interests include swarm robotics, robotic learning, and human-robot interaction—work that has secured more than 2.5 million Euros from the European Union, TUBITAK, and industrial partners. Notably, his contributions to robotic learning were awarded a 53-DOF iCub humanoid platform through the RobotCub project in 2007. Dr. Şahin has edited several journal special issues and books, currently serves as an Associate Editor for Adaptive Behavior, and is a member of the Editorial Board for the Swarm Intelligence journal.