The Trump administration announced on Friday that it would allow the sale of advanced armed drones to other nations and bypass part of an international weapons export control agreement that the United States helped forge more than three decades ago. Administration officials have debated for years how to sell the armed drones despite clauses in the agreement, known as the Missile Technology Control Regime, that prevent its 35 members from doing so. The administration announced in 2018 that it was expanding drone sales, but has not been able to do so because of the limits set by the deal. The agreement is not legally binding and is treated as an understanding among its member nations. But circumventing one part of the pact could undermine the agreement in general and encourage other nations to selectively ignore or reinterpret clauses that they find inconvenient.

A wing-flapping drone inspired by the world's fastest bird has been developed that could one day find use in everything from surveillance operations to flower pollination. An international team of researchers designed the 26-gram ornithopter drone to hover, dart, glide, and dive just like a swift, making it far more versatile than a traditional quadcopter drone. "Unlike common quadcopters that are quite intrusive and not very agile, biologically-inspired drones could be used very successfully in a range of environments," said Dr Yao-Wei Chin, a research scientist from the National University of Singapore who led the project. "The light weight and the slow beating wings of the ornithopter poses less danger to the public that quadcopter drones in the event of a crash and given sufficient thrust and power banks it could be modified to carry different payloads depending on what is required." The researchers expect the first commercial use of the drone could be in monitoring large crowds or inspecting crops in fields.

The isolated Twin Lake beach outside of Minneapolis is known as a haven for freewheeling summer behavior, a place where sunbathers feel comfortable socializing, drinking, and occasionally taking their tops off. According to local authorities, the beach has also been the site of sexual assaults, drownings, drunk driving, and other illicit behavior, drawing regular complaints from nearby homeowners. On July 10, police decided to take action. But instead of sending on-foot officers to the scene to hunt for rule-breakers, they flew their zoom camera–equipped DJI Matrice drone over the beach, in hope of catching them in the act. Police reasoned that the drone could help them deescalate things by avoiding unnecessary personal interaction, in light of the pandemic and the police brutality protests that had ignited over the death of George Floyd at the hands of an officer in late May, in nearby Minneapolis.

Cybersecurity researchers revealed on Thursday a newfound vulnerability in an app that controls the world's most popular consumer drones, threatening to intensify the growing tensions between China and the United States. In two reports, the researchers contended that an app on Google's Android operating system that powers drones made by China-based Da Jiang Innovations, or DJI, collects large amounts of personal information that could be exploited by the Beijing government. The world's largest maker of commercial drones, DJI has found itself increasingly in the cross hairs of the United States government, as have other successful Chinese companies. The Pentagon has banned the use of its drones, and in January the Interior Department decided to continue grounding its fleet of the company's drones over security fears. DJI said the decision was about politics, not software vulnerabilities.

A teenager in New South Wales recently died after a fatal shark bite, adding to four other unprovoked shark-related deaths this year. These tragic events send shockwaves through the community and re-ignite our fear of sharks. They also fuel the debate around the best way to keep people safe in the water while minimising impacts on marine wildlife. This was the aim of a five-year trial of shark-mitigation technology--the Shark Management Strategy – which finished recently. The NSW government created this initiative in response to an unprecedented spike in shark bites in 2015, particularly on the north coast of NSW.

GoPro's Hero lineup is the most recognizable action camera on the market, but drone-maker DJI has the Osmo Action, a compelling alternative especially when it's $100 off like it is right now. The Osmo Action (8/10, WIRED Recommends) has some tricks GoPro cameras lack, like a wonderfully bright color front screen that makes it much easier to reliably get yourself in the shot. Right now, you can buy the DJI Osmo Action at the lowest prices we've seen, Amazon ($249), Best Buy ($249), B&H Photo ($249), and Adorama ($249). If you want to go the opposite direction artistically and capture some buttery smooth handheld 4K video, the DJI Osmo Pocket Gimbal (8/10, WIRED Recommends) is also on sale. You can grab the pocketable, gimbal-mounted camera for $294 at Amazon, or for $299 at Adorama, Best Buy, and B&HPhoto (back ordered).

Amazon has put delivery robots to work during the pandemic and is now expanding its fleet to cities in the South. The online retail giant said Tuesday that it's bringing its Amazon Scout autonomous delivery system to Atlanta, Georgia and Franklin, Tennessee this week. The news comes after a year-long test run in other locales. The cooler-sized rovers help to cut down on human-to-human contact during the nation's current coronavirus crisis. The vice president of Amazon Scout, Sean Scott, said in a blog post that the service helped the company meet increasing customer demand during the pandemic.

Fox News Flash top headlines are here. Check out what's clicking on Foxnews.com. The Senate on Tuesday rejected a bipartisan proposal to curtail the transfer of military-grade weapons and gear to local police departments. Senators voted 51-49 on the proposal, falling short of the 60 votes needed to pass. Spearheaded by Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, the amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) proposed limiting tracked combat vehicles, armed drones, grenade launchers and tear gas to local police departments across the U.S. U.S. Sens. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, left, and Dick Durbin, D-Ill., attend a news conference on defunding military projects to pay for the border wall on Capitol Hill.

If you live in Atlanta, Georgia or Franklin, Tennessee, your next Amazon order might arrive in one of the company's Scout delivery robots. Amazon began testing its cooler-sized delivery bots in Snohomish County, Washington last year. They've been making deliveries in the Irvine area of California, and this week they popped up in Atlanta and Franklin. Only a handful of Amazon Scout devices will operate in each city. They'll be accompanied by a human, travel at walking speed and make deliveries Monday through Friday, during daylight hours.

The coronavirus pandemic changed the way businesses of almost all types operate virtually overnight, hurting most and redefining which ones are truly essential in what quickly became the new normal for billions of people around the world. And it brought with it an unexpected kind of acceleration of trends, forcing the closure of businesses that would have struggled on for a few more years, while bringing a global spotlight to technologies that would have remained relatively obscure or experimental for years to come. Market trends that otherwise would have taken years to evolve transformed in a matter of weeks, it seemed, retiring outdated concepts while stretching emerging tech to its limits. One segment suddenly in the spotlight--and that seemingly saw years of demand and market interest explode in a matter of days--is delivery robots, which until the month of March had seen moderate interest from Silicon Valley and some skepticism from the general public. Suddenly, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos' comment in 2013 that the company was researching parcel delivery via flying drones went from a pie in the sky whimsy with seemingly few advantages to something that businesses large and small needed in 2020.