Big drone makers aren't satisfied with existing efforts to get in the US government's good books, apparently. DJI, 3D Robotics, GoPro and Parrot have forged the Drone Manufacturers Alliance to lobby for a "carefully balanced regulatory framework" that makes sure drones are "safely integrated" into American skies. In plainer language, they want to make sure that regulation doesn't run counter to their interests -- they don't want their business to fizzle out because of a future law.

Our sky is zoned for people. The Federal Aviation Administration, tasked with regulating the airspace above America, has elaborate rules for who and what can fly where. Out of an abundance of caution for human safety, the FAA tries to keep that airspace tidy, reserved for human-carrying vehicles. In a new regulation last week, they opened up just a little bit more of that sky for commercial use of drones, adding a robotic floor to the heavens. "FAA Doubles "Blanket" Altitude for Many [Unmanned Aerial System] Flights" is how the FAA framed the announcement, and that's technically true.

A committee sponsored by the US government is recommending standards that could clear the way for commercial drone flights over populated areas and help speed the introduction of package delivery drones and other uses not yet possible, the Associated Press has reported. The Federal Aviation Administration currently prohibits most commercial drone flights over populated areas, especially crowds. That ban frustrates a host of industries that want to take advantage of the technology. "Every TV station in the country wants one, but they can't be limited to flying in the middle of nowhere because there's no news in the middle of nowhere," said Jim Williams, a former head of FAA's drone office who now advises the industry for Dentons, an international law firm. Cellular network providers also want to loosen restrictions so drones, also known as unmanned aerial vehicles, can inspect cell towers, which often are in urban areas.

A U.S. government-backed committee has reportedly recommended that the Federal Aviation Administration loosen restrictions on the use of commercial drones, a crucial first step to wider business applications for unmanned aerial vehicles. The FAA's Aviation Rulemaking Committee of industry leaders and agency officials late Friday recommended easing restrictions that prohibit businesses from flying unmanned aerial vehicles over populated areas in some cases. FAA spokesman Les Dorr says the agency received the report on Saturday and needs time to review the recommendations. The committee's report, obtained by the Associated Press, recommends the creation of four categories of drones. Devices weighing half a pound or less would have essentially no limits on flying over crowds if the manufacturer could ensure a 99 percent chance that it would not injure someone even if it fell on them.

Drone delivery might be years away in the U.S., but it's becoming a reality in Rwanda this summer. A San Francisco-based drone delivery company says it'll start making its first deliveries of blood and medicine in Rwanda in July. Zipline International Inc., backed by tech heavyweights like Sequoia Capital and Google Ventures, demonstrated its technology for journalists last week in an open field in the San Francisco Bay area. In a demo broadcast on Periscope on Friday, a staffer launched a fixed-wing plane weighing just 22 pounds off a launcher that used compressed air. Electric-powered propellers took it the rest of the way, on a flight that could extend to 75 miles round trip, using military-grade GPS and software to navigate. As it dipped low before the drop-off area, the bottom popped open, and a cardboard box with a parachute made of butcher paper and biodegradable tape burst out, plopping to the ground a few steps away from CEO Keller Rinaudo, who walked over to retrieve it.

According to documents seen by AP, the committee has divided drones into four separate categories for flights over people. The first includes drones under a half-pound with no flight restrictions. However, the manufacturer would have to certify that there would be no more than one percent chance of a person being hurt if it fell on them. The second category is for the most common type of recreational and commercial models by the likes of DJI (above), 3D Robotics and others. Those range from four to five pounds in size, though there would be no set weight limit, according to the AP.

Drone delivery might be years away in the U.S., but it's becoming a reality in Rwanda this summer. A San Francisco-based drone delivery company says it'll start making its first deliveries of blood and medicine in Rwanda in July. Zipline International Inc., backed by tech heavyweights like Sequoia Capital and Google Ventures, demonstrated its technology for journalists last week in an open field in the San Francisco Bay area. In a demo broadcast on Periscope on Friday, a staffer launched a fixed-wing plane weighing just 22 pounds off a launcher that used compressed air. Electric-powered propellers took it the rest of the way, on a flight that could extend to 75 miles round trip, using military-grade GPS and software to navigate.

Nasa has announced that it has found evidence of flowing water on Mars. Scientists have long speculated that Recurring Slope Lineae -- or dark patches -- on Mars were made up of briny water but the new findings prove that those patches are caused by liquid water, which it has established by finding hydrated salts. Several hundred camped outside the London store in Covent Garden. The 6s will have new features like a vastly improved camera and a pressure-sensitive "3D Touch" display

Drones first glided into the public imagination in the early 2000s when the US Air Force and the CIA started using school bus-sized Predator and Reaper unmanned aerial vehicles for surveillance and airstrikes in the Middle East. These days, the US Army wants something a bit smaller: Pocket-sized drones that soldiers can use in battle zones to see around corners, over hills, or behind trees to aoid ambushes and other surprises. Ideally, soldiers will be able to launch such a nano-drone quickly, the Army says. "It will send real-time video back to the operator to give them real-time situational awareness of what's in the immediate vicinity," says says Phil Cheatham, the deputy branch chief for electronics at the Army's Maneuvers Center for Excellence (MCOE). The Army wants something affordable that can be ordered in bulk to provide a drone to each squad. The Army already uses satellite imagery and larger drones to provide broader battlefield intelligence, Cheatham says.

Now, a source claims the Small UAV Coalition is recommending the ban be relaxed to encourage commercial development in the area. The recommendations call for creating four categories of small drones that commercial operators can fly over people, including crowds in some cases. The first category of drones would weigh no more than about a half-pound (230 grams). They essentially could fly unrestricted over people, including crowds. Drone makers would have to certify that if the drone hit someone, there would be no more than a 1 percent chance that the maximum force of the impact would cause a serious injury.