Police said Thursday they recorded 68 illegal drone flight incidents in 2017, almost double the previous year's 36, at a time when delivery services and other businesses are looking to utilize unmanned aircraft. Authorities took action against 77 people, up from 37 the year before, the National Police Agency said, indicating a need to improve public awareness of regulations. "It seems (the regulations) are not widely known," an NPA official said, suggesting the need to improve public awareness. The aviation law bans drone flights in airspace around airports and above densely populated areas. Drones are restricted to flying in daylight hours and need to be monitored at all times.

SENDAI – Municipalities and private firms are hoping robots and drones will be able to help with future disaster recovery efforts -- an initiative that incorporates lessons learned from the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake -- by sending out warnings, gauging damage and accessing places were people cannot. To that end, the Sendai Municipal Government is testing a speaker-equipped drone for sending evacuation warnings during flight. Drones are quieter than helicopters, meaning messages would be easier for those on the ground to hear, city officials said. In such a system, the drone would automatically take flight after receiving a warning from the country's J-Alert early warning system and would issue evacuation messages to local residents. In the 2011 disaster, two city government workers and three volunteer fire department rescuers were killed in the tsunami while warning local residents to evacuate.

An indoor drone racing track for quadcopter pilots to race is picking up speed in Naperville. Glenn Luckinbill, CEO Swarm Robotix, foresee drones racing through a variety of geometric-shaped obstacles lit by different fluorescent colours. "Drone racing has become one of the fastest growing eSports in the last decade," said Luckinbill. He added that he'd be interested in starting a league to introduce more girls and women to the sport that is heavily dominated by men. "A race typically involves eight quadcopters flying at one time through a designated course and the fastest drone wins," said Brain West, Head of Chicago Drone Racers.

Drones and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are quickly shaping up as the built industry's can't-live without, next generation of tools. But not every contractor needs a full in-house team of pilots. And not every sub wants to own their own drone. With so many UAV solutions out there -- what questions should firms be asking themselves when evaluating the software, hardware, and professional services out there? BuiltWorld's talked to 8 of the leading companies in the drone services industry to find out.

A Russian-made drone on its way to making its first parcel delivery has crashed into a wall just moments after taking off. The smash shocked local residents and regional officials who had gathered in the Siberian city of Ulan-Ude on Monday to watch the drone's maiden flight. The drone was sent to deliver a small package to a neighbouring village in the sparsely populated Buryatia region, more than 4,400km east of Moscow. Video footage showed the drone lifting off from a miniature launch pad bearing Russian Post's blue and white logo. A small crowd of spectators, present for the ceremony intended to showcase a new way to deliver mail in the region, were heard uttering expletives after the crash.

Technology used by Nasa for studying faint stars and galaxies could be used to trap poachers in a rare collaboration between astronomers and ecologists. The system combines flying drones, infra-red thermal imaging, and artificial intelligence to monitor animals at night when most poaching occurs. In an early field trial in South Africa, it was used to detect elusive riverine rabbits, one of the most endangered mammals in the world. Researchers hope in future the heat-sensitive drones will make it easier to track animals such as rhinos and spot poachers hunting them under cover of darkness. Technology for studying faint stars and galaxies could be used to trap poachers in a rare collaboration between astronomers and ecologists.

The Nevada Institute for Autonomous Systems (NIAS), in partnership with NASA UTM, conducted multiple drone tests at the Nevada UAS test site at the Reno-Stead Airport. The technology capability level 3 (TCL 3) focused on airspace management technologies seeking to enable the safe integration of UAS into the National Airspace Systems. The research areas during the testing covered UAS ground control interfacing to locally manage operations, communication, navigation, surveillance, human factors, data exchange, network solutions and BVLOS architecture. "The state of Nevada will be known for its significant contribution in this journey through its pioneering work with the FAA, NASA and private partners like ourselves, facilitating safe and effective integration into national airspace," says Mike Richards, President and CEO of Drone America. NASA, FAA and its partners, and NIAS are working on the innovations and the industry growth while respecting aviation safety traditions.

The Nevada Institute for Autonomous Systems (NIAS), in partnership with NASA UTM, conducted multiple drone tests at the Nevada UAS test site at the Reno-Stead Airport. The technology capability level 3 (TCL 3) focused on airspace management technologies seeking to enable the safe integration of UAS into the National Airspace Systems. The research areas during the testing covered UAS ground control interfacing to locally manage operations, communication, navigation, surveillance, human factors, data exchange, network solutions and BVLOS architecture. "The state of Nevada will be known for its significant contribution in this journey through its pioneering work with the FAA, NASA and private partners like ourselves, facilitating safe and effective integration into national airspace," says Mike Richards, President and CEO of Drone America. NASA, FAA and its partners, and NIAS are working on the innovations and the industry growth while respecting aviation safety traditions.

Want to know why mail drones aren't ready for prime time? The Siberian town of Ulan-Ude was expecting to beam with pride as organizer Rudron/Expeditor 3M tested a postal drone in the area for the first time, but they left red-faced after the inaugural flight went spectacularly wrong. The hexacopter courier went haywire moments after takeoff, smacking into the side of a building at high speed -- as you can see in the video below, it went from technological triumph to an embarrassing pile of scrap metal in a matter of seconds. It was a costly crash, too, as the drone reportedly cost about $20,000. It's not certain what went wrong, although regional leader Alexei Tsydenov speculated to Reuters that the 100-plus WiFi signals in the area might have played a part.

Recently, news broke that SF Holding Co. received a government license to operate drones in China. This would open up the possibility for package delivery via drone in the second largest economy in the world. "More than 40 billion packages were shipped around China in 2017 and the number is expected to rise to 49 billion in 2018," according to the State Post Bureau, China's delivery-industry watchdog. The studies also stated that the drones equipped with battery with an average 2.5mile action radius consumed less energy per package, than traditional trucks. Moreover, package delivery via drone could also help reduce air pollution.