Walmart filed six patents during the year for the development of drones for agricultural needs, including artificial pollination of plants. Writes about this Newsweek.
In a patent application, Walmart points out that in recent years, the number of natural pollinators such as bees has been steadily declining, leading to a decline in crop yields. Therefore, the company proposes to develop remote-controlled drones that will cross-pollinate like bees: transferring pollen from flower to flower.
Drones will recognize pollen using special sensors and cameras, and extract and hold them using sticky bristles.
In addition to pollination drones, Walmart has patented drones for recognizing crop pests and spot spraying pesticides on affected plants. The patent says it will help farmers reduce their chemical costs. Walmart also suggests using drones to monitor crops.
Scientists at Walmart are not the first to come up with the idea to create artificial bees. Last year, Japanese scientists at the AIST Institute have already created bee drones for artificial pollination, which are miniature quadcopters weighing about 15 grams and about 4 centimeters in size, camouflaged with a bee coloration. The antennae are made of horsehair coated with a sticky gel. Due to its minimal weight, it can sit on a flower without damaging it, capture pollen with an electric pulse and transfer it to a neighboring flower.
In addition, back in 2013, Harvard University showed the first prototypes of robotic bees that could take off from a flat surface and fly. In 2015, the developers taught them to stick to surfaces, dive and swim underwater, and in 2017 - to take off from under the water, overcoming surface tension with an explosion. True, they do not know how to pollinate plants.
