SHANGHAI (Reuters) - The world's largest maker of consumer drones, China's SZ DJI Technology Co Ltd, expects losses of more than 1 billion yuan ($150 million) for 2018 due to internal corruption, the state-run China Securities Journal said on Friday.

Microdrones has announced that, as part of an ongoing global growth initiative, it has acquired Aircam UAV Technology, a 64 employee Chinese company that provides UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) technologies and services. Aircam has developed a large Chinese and Southeast Asian customer base with a focus on surveying & mapping, utilities, and oil & gas industries. Aircam will be fully integrated with the Microdrones business, brand and leadership team. The Aircam brand and corporate identity will change to Microdrones, and all aspects of the business will be directed by the Microdrones global leadership team. Microdrones and Aircam have a long history of working together.

Drones have a fundamental design problem. The kind of drone that can carry large payloads at high speeds over long distances is fundamentally different from the kind of drone that can take off and land from a small area. In very simple terms, for the former, you want fixed wings, and for the latter, you want rotors. This problem has resulted in a bunch of weird drones that try to do both of these things at once, usually by combining desired features from fixed-wing drones and rotorcraft. We've seen tail-sitter drones that can transition from vertical take off to horizontal flight; we've seen drones with propeller systems that swivel; and we've seen a variety of airframes that are essentially quadrotors stapled to fixed-wing aircraft to give them vertical take-off and landing capability.

Last year, the US Department of Energy announced that the SunShot Initiative successfully met its 2020 utility-scale solar cost target of $0.06 per kilowatt hour three years earlier than expected. This milestone marks a huge step forward for the industry as it moves toward a greener future that's less reliant on fossil fuels. While 6 cents may sound cheap, it's far from the bottom. The SunShot Initiative is now working towards another lofty goal for 2030: $0.03 per KwH. This benchmark would make solar energy one of the least expensive options for new power generation, and help drive mass adoption on a national scale.

Flying drones are mostly known as an amateur or professional devices for gaming, videography, racing and military missions count some of their applications. But what if one drone could do all the above? This drone as a platform idea was the starting point for the foundation team of AiRFLOW. The drone they designed is a common base for commercial, military and tailor-made solutions. This comes from a combination of software implies artificial intelligence technologies and a state of the art hardware that provides the necessary power for fail-safe operation and all the sensors required to complete its mission.

But how do you describe what you saw? Your answer is probably dependent on the time you live in. In 1561, you might have called the weird flying thing a heavenly portent. In the U.K., just before the start of World War I, you would probably say you'd been startled by an unexpected zeppelin. During the Cold War era, you might have called the thing a flying saucer of possible alien origin, or perhaps a secretive Soviet spy weapon: objects that fell into the category of UFOs.

Federal regulators have announced plans to allow drone operators to fly their unmanned aerial vehicles over populated areas and at night. A Wing Hummingbird drone from Project Wing arrives and sets down its package at a delivery location in Blacksburg, Va., last year. Federal regulators have announced plans to allow drone operators to fly their unmanned aerial vehicles over populated areas and at night. A Wing Hummingbird drone from Project Wing arrives and sets down its package at a delivery location in Blacksburg, Va., last year. Package delivery by drone is one small step closer to reality today.

The Transportation Department is funding research to build artificial intelligence-powered drones and trying to get a better understanding of how autonomous vehicles could be manipulated to harm the public. The agency's Volpe National Transportation Systems Center on Thursday began soliciting teams to develop open-source artificial intelligence tools that allow drones to fly without a human operator. The team would ultimately build a drone capable of locating targets and dodging obstacles without outside intervention. Selected vendors would also need to provide secure facilities where government engineers can store and test autonomous drones and cars. The 12-month contract is only open to companies and universities located within 25 miles of Arlington, Va., according to the solicitation.

Right on the heels of Canada introducing new, stricter regulations for drone operations, the US Department of Transportation proposed a new set of rules for drones that would allow the unmanned vehicles to fly over populated areas and operate at night. The proposal also includes a pilot program for drone traffic management that would help to integrate the aircrafts into the nation's airspace. Under the proposed rules, the Federal Aviation Administration would no longer require drone operators to get waivers to operate at night. Instead, it would require drones flying after twilight to have an anti-collision light that would make it visible for at least three miles. Pilots operating a drone at night would also have to undergo knowledge testing and training before being cleared to fly.

Federal officials plan to ease restrictions on drone flights over crowds and at night.