Abstract--In many domains such as transportation and logistics, search and rescue, or cooperative surveillance, tasks are pending to be allocated with the consideration of possible execution uncertainties. Existing task coordination algorithms either ignore the stochastic process or suffer from the computational intensity. Taking advantage of the'weakly coupled' feature of the problem and the opportunity for coordination in advance, we propose a decentralized auction-based coordination strategy using a newly formulated score function which is generated by forming the problem into task-constrained Markov decision processes (MDPs). The proposed method guarantees convergence and at least 50% optimality in the premise of a submodular reward function. Furthermore, for the implementation on large-scale applications, an approximate variant of the proposed method, namely Deep Auction, is also suggested with the use of neural networks, which is evasive of the troublesome for constructing MDPs. Inspired by the well-known actor-critic architecture, two Transformers are used to map observations to action probabilities and cumulative rewards respectively. Finally, we demonstrate the performance of the two proposed approaches in the context of drone deliveries, where the stochastic planning for the drone league is cast into a stochastic price-collecting Vehicle Routing Problem (VRP) with time windows. Simulation results are compared with state-of-the-art methods in terms of solution quality, planning efficiency and scalability. Cooperative systems of multiple agents, which features a flexible structure, parallel-processing ability, and scalability, are of great interest, especially for those operating on the unmanned aerial platform [1], such as cooperative surveillance, search and rescue [2][3], border patrolling, etc. Among its various instantiations, there is a specific but widespread category of assigning tasks among team members with a global goal, followed by an independent and possibly stochastic task execution. For example, in deliveries of parcels [4], tasks are allocated to individual vehicles, and the vehicles deliver their allocated items in sequence, without interference from other executors. However, the delivery may subject to stochastic travel delays between destinations. Also, in multi-target tracking [5], agents decide the tracking targets and the best action to track based on the estimation of targe manoeuvring.

Video surveillance using drones is both convenient and efficient due to the ease of deployment and unobstructed movement of drones in many scenarios. An interesting application of drone-based video surveillance is to estimate crowd densities (both pedestrians and vehicles) in public places. Deep learning using convolution neural networks (CNNs) is employed for automatic crowd counting and density estimation using images and videos. However, the performance and accuracy of such models typically depend upon the model architecture i.e., deeper CNN models improve accuracy at the cost of increased inference time. In this paper, we propose a novel crowd density estimation model for drones (DroneNet) using Self-organized Operational Neural Networks (Self-ONN). Self-ONN provides efficient learning capabilities with lower computational complexity as compared to CNN-based models. We tested our algorithm on two drone-view public datasets. Our evaluation shows that the proposed DroneNet shows superior performance on an equivalent CNN-based model.

Ukraine has warned Vladimir Putin that more drone attacks coming -- just hours after a flying bot smashed into one of Moscow's skyscrapers for the second time in as many days. Although Kyiv refuses to officially take responsibility for such attacks inside Russia, this latest skirmish is considered to be part of a wider offensive aimed at shifting the focus of the conflict to the Kremlin's doorstep. Experts say the way Kyiv is looking to do this is with the help of drones in the air and by sea -- a'cheap', expendable technology which has been revolutionising modern warfare over the past two decades. It is certainly turning attention from the First World War-style trench warfare that has been raging throughout Ukraine since the conflict broke out - and there's a reason the rest of the world is watching. Here, MailOnline looks at how drones are changing the face of future conflict, and why Ukraine is ratcheting up the use of them in an attempt to win the propaganda war and turn the tide of Putin's invasion.

Although there is no clear evidence on where these drones are launched from, they "spell trouble for the Russian authorities," Pavel Aksenov of the BBC's Russian service says. "If launched from behind the front line, it implies the weakness of Russian air defences. If the drones were launched within Russian territory, it suggests that the security services lack control over their own country."

Royal Mail has begun using drones to deliver post in the Orkney islands, helping pave the way for drone deliveries to islands around the UK and on the mainland during emergencies. The service between the village of Stromness on Orkney's main island to the nearby islands of Hoy and Graemsay, using aircraft able to carry up to 6kg, is Royal Mail's first permanent drone delivery service. Using drones allows Royal Mail to provide a faster and more secure delivery service to islands such as the Orkneys, avoiding ferries or scheduled air services subject to weather cancellations, tides and timetables that do not suit the postal service. Royal Mail has been testing and evaluating drone services on Scottish islands for some time, as has the NHS, which has trialled their use for flying urgent medical samples from the small Hebridean islands of Coll and Tiree. Chris Paxton, the head of drone trials at Royal Mail, said these flights were far faster and more efficient, and helped cut carbon emissions.

Although Ukraine has not claimed responsibility for specific incidents, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said attacks on Russian territory are an "inevitable, natural and absolutely fair process".

Russian forces have again downed several drones over the city of Moscow, according to officials, with one of the intercepted aircraft damaging the same office tower that was hit in an attack over the weekend. The Russian defence ministry, in a message on Telegram on Tuesday, said its anti-aircraft units had "thwarted a terrorist attack by the Kyiv regime" and downed two drones in the suburbs west of the city centre. But another drone, having been "hit by radio-electronic equipment and, having run out of control, crashed on the territory of the complex of non-residential buildings" in Moscow City, the ministry said, referring to a business district in the capital. Earlier, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said the building hit on Tuesday was the same one struck in a drone attack on Sunday. "One flew into the same tower at the Moskva City complex hit previously. The facade has been damaged on the 21st floor. Glazing was destroyed over 150 square metres," he said.

Drones have exploded over the gilded domes of the Kremlin. They have hit strategic Russian air bases hundreds of miles from Ukraine. They have struck a Moscow tower that houses several government ministry offices, including the one responsible for the military-industrial complex. And they have landed a stone's throw from one of the main Russian military headquarters, where officers sitting in large situation rooms with vast screens on their walls directly oversee and manage the war in Ukraine. As Ukraine steps up its strikes inside Russian borders this summer, it is also making plain the nature of its targets: military-aligned sites that aid Moscow's full-scale invasion, now in its 18th month.

China on Monday announced export controls on some drones and drone-related equipment, saying it wanted to safeguard "national security and interests" amid escalating tension with the United States over access to technology. The restrictions on equipment, including some drone engines, lasers, communication equipment and anti-drone systems, will take effect on Sept. 1, the Commerce Ministry said. The controls also affect some consumer drones, and no civilian drones can be exported for military purposes, a ministry spokesperson said in a statement.

Alex Brown, director of Skyports Drone Services, said: "By leveraging drone technology, we are revolutionising mail services in remote communities, providing more efficient and timely delivery, and helping to reduce the requirement for emissions-producing vehicles.