Delivery drones could get further by taking the bus. By landing on public transport, the flying vehicles could travel four-and-a-half times as far, making them more useful for carrying packages over longer distances. Drones are agile, fast and energy-efficient, but their measly battery life means they can't fly for long – considerably less than an hour for most consumer models. That's a problem if you want to use them to deliver packages across a large city.

Delivery drones could get further by taking the bus. By landing on public transport, the little flying vehicles could travel four-and-a-half times as far, making them more useful for carrying packages over longer distances. Drones are agile, fast and energy-efficient, but their measly battery life means they can't fly for long – considerably less than an hour for most consumer drones. That's a problem if you want to deliver packages across a large city so researchers at Stanford University devised a computer program that plans deliveries by getting drones to piggyback on public …

Pilots can't spot drones as they approach a runway, warns a shock new study. They fail to catch sight of the flying gadgets 70 per cent of the time - even when they are in their airspace, according to the findings. And they almost never identify the machines if they are hovering motionless above the ground. The disturbing findings uncover a'real and present danger' to safety, warn US aviation experts. Study co author Dr Ryan Wallace, of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in the United States, said: 'Dangerous close encounters between aircraft and drones are becoming an increasingly common problem.

The US Navy has a new method for transporting supplies to off-shore submarines – drone delivery. The military organization has successful delivered a five-pound payload consisting of circuit cards, medical supplies and food to the Virginia-class fast-attack submarine USS Hawaii (SSN 776) while at sea. Delivering supplies by drone will eliminate the need for submarines to pull into ports for goods and allow them to spend more time in the fight. This is the first time the US Navy has employed the use of a drone to deliver goods and Lt. Cmdr. Christopher Keithley, assigned to COMSUBPAC said'What started as an innovative idea has come to fruition as a potentially radical new submarine logistics delivery capability.' 'A large percentage of parts that are needed on submarines weigh less than five-pounds, so this capability could alleviate the need for boats to pull into ports for parts or medical supplies.'

Uber Eats has unveiled its newest drones which will be used to deliver food in San Diego, California, next year. The new drones feature'innovative rotating wings with six rotors' - a design that has previously only been featured in flying car prototypes. Uber Eats said it believes the rotating wings will help to avoid food spillages, as the design enables a smoother transition between vertical takeoff and forward flight. Today, the company unveiled a new look for its drone, which utilises'innovative rotating wings with six rotors', a design that's usually only featured in flying car prototypes The rotors will be positioned vertically for takeoff and landing, but move into a forward position'for increased speed and efficiency during cruise flight', reports The Verge. NASA veteran Mark Moore designed similar rotors for the company's flying-taxi prototype which is also part of the companies Uber Elevate project - to take its services to the sky.

A new robotic tank that can be equipped with armour-piercing ammunition and on-board surveillance drones has been built for the US Army. Intended to serve as a'wingman' for manned tanks and other armoured vehicles, the so-called'Ripsaw M5' is adaptable for support, combat and surveillance. The M5 is the latest remote controlled successor of the US Army's manned Ripsaw MS2 tank, which had a 600 horsepower engine and max speed of 60 miles per hour. The M5 can carry a so-called'Skyraider' quadcopter, centre right-- which has a maximum air speed of 31 miles per hour (50 kph), can carry payloads of 4.4 pounds (2 kg) and remain airborne for as long as 50 minutes -- and has an optical and infrared camera turret, centre left The Ripsaw M5 is a heavily-armoured'Robotic Combat Vehicle'. It is intended to serve as a'wingman' for manned tanks and other vehicles.

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Outfield Technologies is a Cambridge-based agri-tech start-up company which uses drones and artificial intelligence, to help fruit growers maximise their harvest from orchard crops. Outfield Technologies' founders Jim McDougall and Oli Hilbourne have been working with Ph.D. student Tom Roddick from the Department's Machine Intelligence Laboratory to develop their technology capabilities to be able to count the blossoms and apples on a tree via drones surveying enormous apple orchards…

File photo - Troopers with the U.S. Army 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division fire the main gun round at a target during unit gunnery practice with newly acquired M1A1-SA Abrams tanks at Fort Stewart, Georgia, U.S. March 29, 2018. Picture taken March 29, 2018. The targets are dispersed across expansive, mountainous terrain, yet moving in coordination for attack. The armored vehicle cannot fire upon the enemy tanks and give away its position, so it "networks" the targeting specifics to an armed overhead drone which then attacks the enemy tanks -- exploding them with Hellfire missiles, all without putting soldiers at risk. In similar fashion - perhaps a forward operating unmanned ground vehicle receives the targeting information and, controlled by a human operator, fires on the enemy tanks without exposing the location of a manned crew.

Autonomous drones are cautious when navigating the unknown. Now MIT researchers have developed a trajectory-planning model that helps drones fly at high speeds through previously unexplored areas, while staying safe. The model -- aptly named "FASTER" -- estimates the quickest possible path from a starting point to a destination point across all areas the drone can and can't see, with no regard for safety. But, as the drone flies, the model continuously logs collision-free "back-up" paths that slightly deviate from that fast flight path. When the drone is unsure about a particular area, it detours down the back-up path and replans its path. The drone can thus cruise at high speeds along the quickest trajectory while occasionally slowing down slightly to ensure safety.