The cantonal government announced that Geneva would take part in a European feasibility study into using drones for personal transportation. Geneva with the ability to innovate was the ideal candidate to represent Switzerland in the European Union-led project. The project which comes under the Urban Air Mobility (UAM) initiative aims to put urban mobility into the third dimension and also aims to assess public interest for the idea of drone taxis. "This project is a first step towards implementing the canton of Geneva drone vision published in November 2017," said cantonal and city government minister Pierre Maudet. "In a region that is growing rapidly and where traffic is becoming more and more saturated, public bodies have the responsibility to explore new ways of addressing the challenges of tomorrow," said Luc Barthassat, the Geneva transport minister.

The autonomous drone logistics platform Matternet has raised $16 million in a Series A funding round led by Boeing Horizon X Ventures, with investments by Swiss Post, Sony Innovation Fund and Levitate Capital. The funding is a vote of confidence in what many already believe will be a standard feature of our lives in the near future. Matternet has launched drone deliveries in the healthcare sector, with a successful program in Lugano, Switzerland, in partnership with Swiss Post and Mercedes-Benz Vans. It has conducted more than 1,700 flights for the Ticino EOC Hospital Group and delivered over 850 patient samples over densely populated areas without incident. This month, Matternet and Swiss Post expanded the operation to test new hospital-to-hospital networks in Bern and Zurich.

During the second world war, IBM supplied the Nazis with technology used to help transport millions of people to their deaths in the concentration camps. The American technology company leased punch-card machines through a German subsidiary for the purpose of tabulating a population census, which allowed the Nazis to identify and track the movements of Jews all the way to the gas chambers. So helpful were IBM's machines that Hitler awarded a special medal to the company's CEO, Thomas Watson, in recognition of his services to the Third Reich. This shameful episode in IBM's history highlights an uncomfortable predicament for companies pursuing lucrative government contracts, and one that's recently reared its head for Google, Microsoft and Amazon: should they be held accountable for how their customers deploy their technologies? The question has come to the fore for Microsoft, after it was revealed that the company's Azure cloud computing arm was working with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice).

Recently, the University of Washington published an article illustrating the use of laser energy by researchers for the propulsion of small drones. The nano drones represent a real asset for many missions but the autonomy of flight is a real challenge. To overcome this, researchers at University of Washington developed a wireless drone, powered by a small photovoltaic panel. "Before now the concept of wireless insect-sized flying robots was science fiction. Would we ever able to make them work without needing a wire?" said co-author Sawyer Fuller, an assistant professor in the UW Department of Mechanical Engineering.

SYDNEY – Australia will invest 7 billion Australian dollars ($5.2 billion) to develop and buy high-tech U.S. drones for joint military operations and to monitor waters including the South China Sea, it said Tuesday. Canberra has been embarking on its largest peacetime naval investment through a massive shipbuilding strategy that includes new submarines, offshore patrol vessels and frigates to shore up its defense capabilities. As part of this, the government will spend AU$1.4 billion to buy the first of six MQ-4C Triton maritime surveillance drones, with the aircraft to enter service from mid-2023, complementing seven P-8A Poseidon planes currently in use. "Together these aircraft will significantly enhance our anti-submarine warfare and maritime strike capability, as well as our search and rescue capability," Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said in a statement. "This investment will protect our borders and make our region more secure."

Australia will buy six U.S. Triton remotely piloted aircraft to beef up its maritime patrols, with the initial investment of A$1.4 billion ($1 billion) for the first drone, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said on Tuesday. The government said the Triton drones, made by Northrop Grumman Corp, would be used alongside P-8A Poseidon aircraft for long range operations and intelligence gathering, and would improve anti-submarine warfare and marine strike capability. "This investment will protect our borders and make our region more secure," Turnbull and Australia's defence ministers said in a joint statement. The total cost for the six drones, including facilities upgrades and support, will be A$6.9 billion, a person familiar with the transaction said. Defence Industry Minister Christopher Pyne's office declined to comment on the total cost of the aircraft, which can fly for up to 24 hours and have sensors that can view the surrounding area over 2,000 nautical miles (3,700 kms).

Flocks of robotic birds are taking to the skies of China equipped with high-tech surveillance technology, according to a report. The so-called "spy bird" programme, first reported by the South China Morning Post, is already in operation in at least five provinces and provides another tendril in the country's already advanced surveillance network. The dove-like drones are being developed by researchers at Northwestern Polytechnical University in the Shaanxi province, who have previously worked on stealth fighter jets used by China's airforce. One of the researchers involved said the roll out of the technology was still in its early stages. "The scale is still small," said Yang Wenqing, an associate professor at the university's School of Aeronautics who worked on the programme.

China is stepping-up its mass surveillance, with a flock of camera-equipped drones designed to look like doves. The surveillance drones are fitted with flapping wings, allowing them to swoop, dive and glide just like the real thing. The robotic spies are almost indistinguishable from real doves and have even been spotted flying in flocks of real birds – helping them to avoid detection from radar. The machines are fitted with all the technology of a top-end spy drone, including a high-definition camera for photographs and video clips, GPS antenna, flight control system, and satellite data link. More than 30 military and government agencies have already deployed the birdlike drones to spy on the population, sources claim.

If you think drones aka unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are at the peak of their evolution, it's time to think again because China is using the technology as birds to spy on its residents. We all know that the basic job of a drone involves monitoring ground activity and conducting critical reconnaissance missions. Most countries in the world are employing the technology for this purpose, but in order to ensure the success of such missions, it is crucial that the UAV remains unseen. This is why engineers across the globe are working to improve the element of stealth. However, just recently, a report from South China Morning Post (SCMP) revealed that China's government and military agencies have taken a unique approach to the case.

According a report from the Center for the Study of the Drone at Bard College, the public safety agencies across the US are adopting various drone programs for law enforcement. According to a research, the drone usage has been increased by 82% in the past year. The report also states that there are twice as many public safety agencies with drones as there are agencies with manned aircraft. This research clearly reveals the use of drones in the public safety agencies especially in the law enforcement sector. More than 700 drone programs have started from 2016 to now and this growth depicts the importance of such new technologies.