Ask most of the people developing autonomous vehicles how robo-cars will change the world, and most will say safety--more than a million people die on the road every year, and self-driving cars could prevent some of those deaths. Some might say smarter cars can battle congestion. Ask Dave Ferguson, though, and he'll pitch the idea that this technology could make moving about so efficient and affordable that transportation becomes effectively free. But first, before the zeroes and ones can do any of that, they may bring you your groceries. If you shop at Kroger, that is, and are cool with a Lilliputian pseudo-car pulling into your driveway all by itself.

MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA – Following significant internal backlash at Google against the firm's participation in a U.S. military drone surveillance program, CEO Sundar Pichai has published a list of seven key ethical principles to guide the company's use of AI. Back in April, over 3,000 Google employees – including senior figures – signed an open letter in protest of the search giant's participation in the Pentagon-run Project Maven. Project Maven saw Google machine vision technology being leveraged to'improve' the targeting of U.S. drone strikes, in what the open letter referred to as a'biased and weaponized' use of AI. "This plan will irreparably damage Google's brand and its ability to compete for talent," the letter said. "Google is already struggling to keep the public's trust. Less than two months later, Google CEO Sundar Pichai has responded publicly by setting out core ethical principles for the company's applications of AI and machine learning going forward. Pichai refers to these as'concrete standards' that will'actively govern' Google's research and product development, and more significantly, will impact their business decisions. "We recognize that such powerful technology raises equally powerful questions about its use," Pichai says in a blog post on the company's site. "How AI is developed and used will have a significant impact on society for many years to come.

Roboticists from the University of Tokyo's JSK Lab have created a flying robot they call DRAGON, an acronym for Dual-rotor embedded multilink Robot with the Ability of multi-deGree-of-freedom aerial transformatiON. A recent report by IEEE Spectrum includes a video highlighting the bot's ability to change its shape mid-flight in order to navigate through tight spaces. DRAGON comprises four modules, each boasting a pair of maneuverable fan thrusters. Battery-powered hinged joints link these modules. An Intel Euclid serves as both the eyes and the brain of DRAGON, letting the flying robot "see" the world around it and autonomously decide what shape it needs to assume to fit through a given area.

Facebook has quietly killed its plans to build massive drones that beam high-speed internet across the globe following'significant internal turmoil' at the company. The so-called Aquila project had twice successfully flown prototype drones but is now being scrapped in favour of new partnerships with firms like Airbus. It follows the announcement that Andrew Cox, head of Aquila project, and Martin Gomez, Facebook's director of aeronautical platforms, have both resigned. The decision means Facebook is shutting down a facility in Bridgwater, Somerset, that had been helping to build the technology. Sixteen people have lost their jobs as a result of the closure.

Facebook has cancelled its Project Aquila, a programme to develop drones to deliver high-speed internet to remote areas currently not connected to the internet. According to Facebook, which started its development on the high-altitude platform station (HAPS) technology in 2014, many other companies have started to develop similar technologies, which has led to Facebook deciding not to continue the project. Since the start of the programme, Facebook has been working on technology and policy to help the four billion people currently not connected to the internet gain access. Facebook wanted to do this by flying drones over remote areas currently lacking in internet infrastructure. Those drones were to use beam down high-speed wireless internet connections while using solar power to stay airborne for extended amounts of time.

These days any old schlub can pilot a drone without cratering it, what with good old autopilot tech, but there are drone pilots out there whose abilities push the limits of human cognition. Drone racing is a truly insane endeavor (now with its very own Drone Racing League!) with human pilots banking around corners and through obstacles at over 100 miles per hour, navigating it all through the craft's onboard camera. It takes an almost unimaginable amount of coordination--but, alas, even this highly skilled job is in danger of automation. Researchers have developed a system that allows drones to autonomously navigate an obstacle course of gates with 100 percent accuracy--that is, the robots don't crash into something and explode. Not only that, because of the clever way the researchers trained the drones, the machines can adapt if a wily human moves a gate mid-run, completing a course that looks different than when they started.

A photo of the first Aquila high altitude aircraft being built by Facebook in England. Facebook said Tuesday it was shutting down the project, four years after its start. SAN FRANCISCO -- Facebook has grounded its Aquila internet drone project after four years. The project, aimed at building a drone that could fly over an isolated area and provide internet coverage, will shut down, the social media company announced Tuesday in a blog post. Facebook is abandoning efforts to build its own aircraft and will close the British facility involved in the project.

The government signed a peace accord in late 2016 with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), which was heavily involved in coca production and cocaine trafficking. Since the group demobilized, many new gangs have moved in and taken over its lucrative business and trafficking routes.

The public safety agencies using drones have been increased by approximately 82% in the last year, and the drone usage have been highly seen in police, fire and public safety departments. The drones are widely being used and its use is increasing with the passage of time.

Salesforce Chairman and CEO Marc Benioff at Salesforce Dreamfest 17. Employees at Salesforce sent a letter to Benioff asking him to reconsider the company's contract with U.S. Customs and Border Protection. SAN FRANCISCO – Employees at Salesforce signed a letter to their CEO Marc Benioff asking him to reconsider the company's contracts with U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the latest in a string of staff protests at major tech companies over government contracts. More than 650 employees signed the letter, according to Bloomberg and Buzzfeed, which obtained a copy. The letter says Salesforce employees are aware that certain company products and tools are being used by CBP, and they are particularly concerned about Salesforce's Service Cloud being used in border activities. "Given the inhumane separation of children from their parents currently taking place at the border, we believe that our core value of Equality is at stake and that Salesforce should re-examine our contractual relationship with CBP and speak out against its practices," the letter said.