6 years ago
3
Walmart has hinted that it's building crop-pollinating robot bees
Like an episode out of "Black Mirror," Walmart has filed a patent for autonomous robotic bees, technically called pollination drones, that could potentially pollinate crops just like real bees. The drones would carry pollen from one plant to another, using sensors and cameras to detect the locations of the crops.
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I don't know how to feel about this. I mean, on on side I feel wow, how cool, I love technology evolution and the good cause, but on the other side I'm feeling pretty sad thinking at the actual living bees that are struggling with survival...
It's vaporware. With money to burn, and a big pile of it burning nicely under a budget code for research, Walmart would patent birds singing and fish swimming if they thought they could squeeze a nickel out of it later. There's no there there, at least not from Walmart, other than cubic money they might as well throw at patent attorneys and fees. Because you know they'd never waste any of that on their, [pinches nose shut] 'employees.'
this just feels more like a patent troll than a real patent for something they are doing.
because it's painfully obvious this is a technology we will need so Walmart is banking on it.