Some of the world's most prominent scientists and technology entrepreneurs including physicist Stephen Hawking, Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak signed a letter warning about the dangers of autonomous weapons, which they said would be technologically feasible "within years, not decades". Australia has warned the world that artificially intelligent killer robots "may be closer than many of us had imagined" and nations need to work harder to tackle the future threat they may pose. At a United Nations meeting on "lethal autonomous weapons systems" in Geneva, Switzerland, the Australian delegation on Monday night called on the world to come up with agreed rules about how to handle the rapid pace in technology in military artificial intelligence. "The development of fully autonomous systems able to conduct military targeting operations which kill and injure combatants or civilians may be closer than many of us had imagined," the delegation's statement said. "It is an appropriate time to consider the risks of such weapons systems and to make sure we understand fully what might constitute misuse as well as legitimate use of emerging technologies."

NATO-led mission in Afghanistan has confirmed that the US military will investigate into the US drone strikes in southeastern Afghanistan that killed 17 people last week. Brigadier General Charles Cleveland, spokesman for the US-led coalition, told Al Jazeera on Monday, that they will conduct an investigation into the air strikes carried out in the Paktika province. "Currently there is no evidence of civilian casualties, however, we are conducting a thorough investigation into the strikes," Cleveland, who is part of the Operation Resolute Support, said. Relatives and tribal elders demanded for an investigation on Saturday claiming that the air raids hit civilians, not members of armed groups. However, Afghan officials told Al Jazeera that the people killed in the attack had links to the Taliban.

The new Atom comes in at just 122mm wide, and thanks to its durable carbon fiber frame plus polycarbonate shell, it only weighs 5 ounces or about 142 grams -- well below the the FAA's 250-gram threshold for mandatory registration. For the same reasons, this tiny drone comes with greater crash resistanance as well as maneuverability than its bigger counterparts. The custom-made brushless motors and propellers allow the Atom to reach speeds of up to 60 mph or 100 km/h, and depending on how hard you push it, its 6,400 mAh swappable lithium ion battery will last for somewhere between three to ten minutes. Video feed is courtesy of a 600TVL CMOS camera with a 120-degree field of view at the front, and on the receiving end the 480p monitor features 40 channels on 5.8 GHz, with a range of 1.5 miles or about 2.4 km. Should you wish to record video, RotorX will later let you mount a 1080p camera module with a microSD slot.

Festo is known for drones modeled on animals, like the Seagull-inspired SmartBird and 3D-printed BionicANTs. We're not sure what animal the "FreeMotionHandling" sphere is supposed to be -- some kind of flying jellyfish, maybe? Filled with helium, it can soar autonomously in any direction thanks to eight on-board propellers. Guided by indoor GPS and a pair of cameras, it can then grab an object using using the company's tongue-like FlexShapeGripper and absorb it into the body of the balloon.

Drones are opening up a world of new possibilities for consumers. They may have started off as aerial cameras, but now, as the technology has matured, they're finding applications far outside the realm of photography. Nowadays we've got drones that deliver goods, fight deforestation, and even patrol our coastlines to warn swimmers of nearby sharks -- but this is just the beginning. In the not so distant future, drones will also be used to save lives. Staring very soon, DJI, the world's largest drone manufacturer, will be supplying drones to the European Emergency Number Association for use in high-impact situations like rescue missions -- a deal that could fundamentally change the way first responders operate.

CHIBA – The government and companies started a trial of a drone home delivery service in Chiba Prefecture on Monday, with drones loaded with packages flying between condominiums, commercial facilities and adjacent parks. The joint project involving the central government, the city of Chiba, research institutions and companies including e-commerce giant Rakuten Inc. is the first drone delivery trial in an urban area. The city of Chiba has been designated as a special deregulation zone to conduct the trial. In the next stage of the trial, drones will pick up packages from a warehouse located beside Tokyo Bay and deliver them to Chiba's Mihama Ward, about 10 km away. The city aims to start the drone home delivery service by 2020, when Tokyo will host the Olympic and Paralympic Games, and plans to ask real estate developers scheduled to construct high-rise condominiums in Mihama to set up landing areas for the craft on each unit's balcony.

Domino's Australia is independent from the U.S. based pizza chain, but pays a royalty to use the name, logo and recipes. Domino's Australia is independent from the U.S. based pizza chain, but pays a royalty to use the name, logo and recipes. NEW YORK -- Ding dong, there's a robot at your door and it's got your extra large pizza. This could be a future Saturday night scenario if Domino's Australia gets its way. Domino's Australia is independent from the U.S. based pizza chain, but pays a royalty to use the name, logo and recipes.

Whirring engines, hairpin turns and the occasional crash -- but today, instead of top performance cars with millions of dollars of research behind them, it's tiny drones crossing the finish line. "There's really nothing like it," said Tom Buckley, who founded the Boston Multi Rotor Club. "You're in the driver's seat, you are the pilot, you're going around these courses at very fast speeds." Today, Buckley and a couple dozen others will fire up their drones, connect their remote controllers and zoom around a track as fast as they can at BMRC's latest race. The races are often scored based on how many laps each drone can fly in two minutes.

Perel told ABC News that he initially thought a bomb had been detonated outside the building, adding he was "99 percent ok, I just have a bruise." After realizing what had happened, he quickly removed the memory card from the GoPro camera attached to the DJI drone. "While sitting at my desk I heard what sounded like a missile followed by a huge bang and glass all over me," he wrote in the YouTube video description. "Turns out someone lost control of their drone.

That could be a reality soon, thanks to an agreement just announced by the mysterious SICdrone, an unmanned aircraft system manufacturer, and CrowdOptic, an "interactive streaming platform that connects the world through smart devices." A CrowdOptic "cluster" -- multiple people focused on the same object. CrowdOptic's technology lets a "cluster" (multiple people or objects) point their cameras or smartphones at the same thing (say, at a concert or sporting event), with different views, allowing for group chat or sharing content. For SICdrone, the idea is to use CrowdOptic tech to automatically orchestrate the drones' onboard cameras to track and capture multiple camera angles (and views) of a single point of interest.* Beyond that, this tech could provide vital flight-navigation systems to coordinate multiple drones without having them conflict (or crash), says CrowdOptic CEO Jon Fisher.