Drones
Where2comm: Communication-Efficient Collaborative Perception via Spatial Confidence Maps
Multi-agent collaborative perception could significantly upgrade the perception performance by enabling agents to share complementary information with each other through communication. It inevitably results in a fundamental trade-off between perception performance and communication bandwidth. To tackle this bottleneck issue, we propose a spatial confidence map, which reflects the spatial heterogeneity of perceptual information. It empowers agents to only share spatially sparse, yet perceptually critical information, contributing to where to communicate. Based on this novel spatial confidence map, we propose Where2comm, a communication-efficient collaborative perception framework. Where2comm has two distinct advantages: i) it considers pragmatic compression and uses less communication to achieve higher perception performance by focusing on perceptually critical areas; and ii) it can handle varying communication bandwidth by dynamically adjusting spatial areas involved in communication. To evaluate Where2comm, we consider 3D object detection in both real-world and simulation scenarios with two modalities (camera/LiDAR) and two agent types (cars/drones) on four datasets: OPV2V, V2X-Sim, DAIR-V2X, and our original CoPerception-UAVs. Where2comm consistently outperforms previous methods; for example, it achieves more than 100,000 lower communication volume and still outperforms DiscoNet and V2X-ViT on OPV2V.
Chornobyl at 40: Settlers and horses survive Russian drones, contamination
What are Russia's gains from the Iran war? 'We are not losers; we are winners' But the calm is deceptive. Two soldiers scour the skies, hands firmly gripping anti-aircraft guns mounted on pick-up trucks parked on a small, dilapidated bridge on a tributary of the Pripyat River. Danger is all around, both in the surrounding land, which still carries the legacy of the 1986 Chornobyl nuclear disaster, with pockets of intense radioactive contamination, and above, where Russian drones and missiles launched from just across the border in Belarus, a short distance to the north, regularly pass overhead. The area is known as the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone (CEZ), a restricted area of approximately 30km (19 miles) in diameter, comparable in size to Luxembourg, established to contain the spread of contamination. Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, briefly occupying the CEZ and the surrounding area, large swaths of it have become militarised, adding another layer of restriction to an already tightly controlled and hazardous environment. Yet despite the CEZ's many dangers, four decades on from the Chornobyl disaster, small communities of scientists, elderly returnees and soldiers have carved out lives among its abandoned buildings, while wildlife thrives in the surrounding forests.
Ukrainian married couple aged 75 killed in Russian attack on Odesa
What are Russia's gains from the Iran war? 'We are not losers; we are winners' A Ukrainian married couple, both aged 75, were killed in a Russian attack on Odesa, Ukrainian officials said. Russia launched a series of drone attacks on and near Ukraine's southern port city. The assault destroyed residential buildings and hit a foreign merchant ship, according to Ukrainian authorities. A separate attack killed the married couple and wounded another, reported Ukraine's State Emergency Service. Serhiy Lysak, head of the local military administration, shared images of a building engulfed in flames and another torn open along one side, as emergency crews worked inside.
Steve Rosenberg: Kremlin's tightening grip on internet fuels public discontent
Near the Kremlin several dozen people are queuing outside the presidential administration office. They've come to submit petitions calling on President Vladimir Putin to end a crackdown on the internet. Russian authorities have been tightening control of the country's cyber space. Access to global messaging apps has been restricted and there are widespread disruptions to, even shutdowns of, mobile internet. Petitioning the president is legal.
The US Military Is 3D Printing Warheads
Army infantry drone operators successfully test the bunker rupture and kinetic explosive round, delivered by an unmanned aerial system, during a live-fire demonstration at Redstone Arsenal, Ala., March 26, 2026. Get your news from a source that's not owned and controlled by oligarchs. The US Army announced this week that it has successfully 3D-printed a drone-based warhead prototype, and successfully used that weapon to make something explode. In a press release, the military called the weapon "a lightweight, powerful, and lethal warhead that could be deployed from a small, agile drone." In a video posted April 21 and captioned only "Multi-Purpose," a drone blows up a makeshift bunker on a military testing site.
Russia strikes Ukraine's Odesa port, kills railway worker in Zaporizhia
What are Russia's gains from the Iran war? 'We are not losers; we are winners' Russia strikes Ukraine's Odesa port, kills railway worker in Zaporizhia Russian drones have attacked Ukraine's main Black Sea port in the southern city of Odesa and a railway in the region of Zaporizhia, killing a train driver, according to Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister Oleksii Kuleba. The overnight attacks damaged the infrastructure of the Odesa port, including berths, warehouses, railway infrastructure and port operators' facilities, Kuleba said in a statement on X on Wednesday. Kuleba said this is "another proof of terrorism, Russia is at war against peaceful people, against those who were simply doing their job and keeping the country moving". Russia also launched several drones and missiles on a flight path near the disused Chornobyl nuclear plant, elevating the risk of a significant accident, according to Ukraine's top state prosecutor. This comes as Ukraine prepares to mark the 40th anniversary of the 1986 Chornobyl disaster on Sunday.
Japan-Ukraine drone tie-up sends first weapon onto battlefield
Terra Drone's Terra A1 interceptor drone has entered active combat use in Ukraine after being deployed to a military unit tasked with countering Russian uncrewed aerial systems. Japanese drone company Terra Drone said its Terra A1 interceptor -- developed with its Ukrainian partner Amazing Drones -- has moved from the lab to the front lines, entering active combat use in Ukraine against Russian-made Shahed drones. "Deployment for defense purposes has already begun with a military unit, and evaluation and feedback collection under actual operating conditions are currently under way," the Tokyo-based firm, which recently made a strategic investment in the Ukrainian startup, said in a recent statement. Terra Drone explained that this initial "real-world operational deployment" -- carried out via its local partner -- will follow a phased rollout, where new equipment is first issued to a single unit and then expanded to further deployments depending on evaluations from the field. In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever.
Pentagon seeks 75 billion for drones in record budget ask
A soldier carries a drone during a military parade in Washington on June 14, 2025. The Pentagon's largest-ever budget request earmarks $75 billion for drones and technologies to counter them, mainly for a massive increase for a little-known office working with U.S. commandos to test and evaluate various systems, according to defense officials. The drone-funding proposal includes $54.6 billion for the Defense Autonomous Working Group, or DAWG, from just $225.9 million this year. That would appear to be the largest single year-over-year boost of any defense program or office, meaning it's likely to draw particular congressional and public scrutiny in an already eye-catching $1.5 trillion request that's 42% larger than this year's budget. The big boost for the Pentagon's little-known drone unit comes as the U.S. and Israeli war against Iran illustrates how drones can help level the playing field against even the world's most well-funded armed forces.
A drone delivered her lethal dose of fentanyl in a church parking lot. Now her dealer is going to prison
Things to Do in L.A. Tap to enable a layout that focuses on the article. A drone delivered her lethal dose of fentanyl in a church parking lot. The Drug Enforcement Administration was among agencies involved in the investigation. This is read by an automated voice. Please report any issues or inconsistencies here .