Amid a world-wide crisis in the bee industry, two companies have formed a joint venture to produce honey sustainably in the UAE. With summer flowers out and in full bloom bees are finding lots of pollen for their hives. SAN FRANCISCO -- Birds do it. Now even educated Walmart drones may do it. The world's largest retailer has applied for a patent for drone pollinators to make up for the decline in bees and other insects that fertilize crops and make much of the food the company sells possible.

Walmart Inc's patent filings hint that it may see a future where farmers use its drones to not only spot crop problems but selectively apply chemicals or even disperse pollen to bring shoppers the freshest and cheapest food possible. The world's largest retailer applied for six patents last year on drones that aim to prevent damage to crops, control pest attacks on farms and cross-pollinate plants, according to U.S. Patents and Trademark Office documents that were made public last week and seen by Reuters. Groceries make up 56 percent of the company's total revenue and Walmart may see drone technology as one way to get food from farms to store shelves faster and more cheaply to compete with Amazon.com Walmart Inc's patent filings hint that it may see a future where farmers use its drones to not only spot crop problems but selectively apply chemicals or even disperse pollen to bring shoppers the freshest and cheapest food possible. In one application, Walmart seeks to patent a system that would use drones to identify crop-damaging pests and then dispense insecticides on the critters.

Drones are pretty nifty devices, but the prices for the best ones can often feel as high as the altitudes the drones can reach. Fortunately, B&H currently has a one-day sale on the DJI Phantom 4 Advanced Quadcopter that lets you pick up the device for $370 off the regular price of $1,199. All total, you'll be paying just $829 as B&H is offering free shipping. The quadcopter flies at around 44 miles per hour and can stay up in the air for around 30 minutes. It also comes with five sensors for avoiding obstacles, and its 20MP camera can capture 4K video with a range of 4.35 miles.

Google has quietly secured a contract to work on the Defense Department's new algorithmic warfare initiative, providing assistance with a pilot project to apply its artificial intelligence solutions to drone targeting. The military contract with Google is routed through a Northern Virginia technology staffing company called ECS Federal, obscuring the relationship from the public. The contract, first reported Tuesday by Gizmodo, is part of a rapid push by the Pentagon to deploy state-of-the-art artificial intelligence technology to improve combat performance. Google, which has made strides in applying its proprietary deep learning tools to improve language translation, and vision recognition, has a cross-team collaboration within the company to work on the AI drone project. The team, The Intercept has learned, is working to develop deep learning technology to help drone analysts interpret the vast image data vacuumed up from the military's fleet of 1,100 drones to better target bombing strikes against the Islamic State.

When most people with normal vision walk down the street, they can easily differentiate the things they must avoid – like trees, curbs and glass doors -- from the things they don't, such as shadows, reflections and clouds. Chances are, most people also can anticipate what obstacles they should expect to encounter next -- knowing, for example, that at a street corner they should watch out for cars and prepare to step down off the curb. The ability to differentiate and anticipate comes easily to humans but it's still very difficult for artificial intelligence-based systems. That's one big reason why self-driving cars or autonomous delivery drones are still emerging technologies. Microsoft researchers are aiming to change that.

The Wall Street Journal reports that drones may be approved for use in the United States by summer. A link has been sent to your friend's email address. A link has been posted to your Facebook feed. The Wall Street Journal reports that drones may be approved for use in the United States by summer.

Autonomous flying taxis just took one big step forward to leaping off the pages of science fiction and into the real world, thanks to Google co-founder Larry Page's Kitty Hawk. The billionaire-backed firm has announced that it will begin the regulatory approval process required for launching its autonomous passenger-drone system in New Zealand, after conducting secret testing under the cover of another company called Zephyr Airworks. The firm's two-person craft, called Cora, is a 12-rotor plane-drone hybrid that can take off vertically like a drone, but then uses a propeller at the back to fly at up to 110 miles an hour for around 62 miles at a time. The all-electric Cora flies autonomously up to 914 metres (3,000ft) above ground, has a wingspan of 11 metres, and has been eight years in the making. "Designing an air taxi for everyday life means bringing the airport to you. That's why Cora can take off and land like a helicopter, eliminating the need for runways," says Kitty Hawk.

"This acquisition of ScanEagle is one way to modernize the military to deter those who want to wage war against our country," Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said at a ceremony at a Manila air force base, attended by the U.S. ambassador.

Earlier promises of progress turned out to be premature. The green light could be delayed again if proponents can't overcome nagging security concerns on the part of local or national law-enforcement agencies. Proposed projects also may end up stymied if Federal Aviation Administration managers don't find creative ways around legislative and regulatory restrictions such as those mandating pilot training for manned aircraft. But some proponents of delivery and other drone applications "think they might be ready to operate this summer," Jay Merkle, a senior FAA air-traffic control official, said during a break at an unmanned-aircraft conference in Baltimore last week that highlighted the agency's pro-business approach. At least 10 FAA-approved pilot programs for various drone initiatives--some likely including package delivery--are slated to start by May.

Don't be surprised if you see a drone outside on your doorstep this summer. Federal regulators want to begin using drones for'limited package deliveries' as soon as within the next few months, according to the Wall Street Journal. Officials have been working with Silicon Valley tech giants and aerospace companies to develop proposals, rewrite regulations and address safety concerns, as part of an effort to make the technology a reality. A drone delivers an Amazon package to customers in Germany. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) made similar promises last year, but their efforts were stymied by growing concerns from local and national law-enforcement agencies.