This Week in the Unmanned Systems and Robotics World

Walmart has reportedly filed a patent for autonomous robotic bees that could potentially pollinate crops like real bees. Technically known as pollination drones, the autonomous robotic bees would carry pollen from one plant to another, using sensors and cameras to detect the crops’ locations. (ScienceAlert)

The National Sports Security Laboratory (NSSL) at the National Center for Spectator Sports Safety and Security (NCS4) recently tested and evaluated a UAS at the University of Southern Mississippi. The evaluation included a team of subject matter experts in the field of sports safety and security. (Southern Miss Now)

This summer, Gatwick Airport, which is the second biggest airport in Britain, will begin a six-month trial of autonomous vehicles. The initial focus of the trial will be moving workers between the north and south terminals, but the hope is that the vehicles could eventually “cut costs, improve safety and make airside operations more efficient.” (Sunday Times Driving)

According to Semcon, for the first time on March 19, autonomous snowplows were used to clear snow from a runway. The snow plows were used at Fagernes Airport in Leirin, Norway. The autonomous snowplows are a part of a project developed by Yeti Snow Technology, co-owned by Semcon and Øveraasen. (Semcon)

Automakers facing the demand of producing self-driving cars that can perform in snow and sleet have found Canada to be an ideal place for testing their technology. An example of this is Renesas Electronics Corp, a Japanese semiconductor manufacturer, choosing Ontario as the site of its only autonomous test-track because of the harsh winters in the Canadian province. (Reuters)

17-year-old Sam Hadley is one of the top ranked UAS racers in Australia. His piloting skills, along with his abilities as a technician, have won him what is believed to be the first traineeship in the Australian UAS industry with a UAS deployment company called Airsight Australia. (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

Baidu, Inc. has received the first batch of licenses in Beijing to test its autonomous driving vehicles on open roads in designated areas of the city. To this date, Baidu is the only company to receive such permits. (GlobeNewswire)

Drone Delivery Canada has started the development of its newest cargo delivery UAS. Known as ‘The Condor,’ the UAS is being engineered to provide payload capacities of up to 400 pounds, and designed to fly approximately 150 kilometers (more than 93 miles). (Drone Delivery Canada)