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It's not too hard to make a drone that can fly very fast, and it's not too hard to make a drone that can avoid obstacles. Making a drone that can do both at once is much more difficult, but it's necessary in order for them to be real-world useful. At MIT CSAIL, Pete Florence (in Russ Tedrake's lab) has developed a new motion planning framework called NanoMap, which uses a sequence of 3D snapshots to allow fast-moving (10 m/s) drones to safely navigate around obstacles even if they're not entirely sure where they are. Don't worry if you don't catch all the details, as we'll take a crack at explaining what's going on afterwards: I don't mind telling you, this is one of those papers which reminds me that I have a degree in geology rather than robotics. So, let's start with the key idea of NanoMap, which the paper helpfully makes explicit right there in the abstract: The key idea of NanoMap is to store a history of noisy relative pose transforms and search over a corresponding set of depth sensor measurements for the minimum-uncertainty view of a queried point in space.

The current generation of autonomous drone navigation and flightpath planning systems are almost too precise, demanding hundreds of measurements be taken so that the UAV knows exactly where it is in space at any given moment. And if those readings are off by even a little, then the drone is in for an impact. What's more, all that data collection is computationally intensive -- especially for smaller drones where the space and weight capacities are limited. The new NanoMap system from MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL), however, strikes the right balance between accuracy and speed. With it, drones can navigate heavily populated areas -- think forests or Amazon fulfillment centers -- at up to 20 mph.

PYEONGCHANG, South Korea-- Tech giant Intel says unexpected last-minute "logistical challenges" forced it to scrap plans to launch hundreds of small drones that were to put on a light show as part of the pageantry at the Winter Olympics opening ceremony. Intel, which received heaps of attention for using their Shooting Star drones to put on a show at the 2017 Super Bowl as part of Lady Gaga's halftime performance, had been working for several months on the Olympics performance. A company spokeswoman confirmed to USA TODAY that it had to scrap the live show, but did not respond to a request for a more detailed explanation of what caused the last-minute challenges. IOC spokesman Mark Adams also confirmed the live drone show was scrapped at the last minute, because of an "impromptu" logistical challenge. Several hours before the start of the ceremony, Intel chief strategy officer Aicha Evans told USA TODAY that they planned to launch 300 drones during the tail-end of the ceremony.

Without the heat-sensing drone, refuge fire officials have to check each individual pile, either with a handheld heat sensor or by testing the ashes with their hands. Hill estimated there were several hundred piles of wood and ashes needing inspection in the area. Whereas they would have to be checked individually, now Laker can sweep through the area in a matter of minutes.

Tensions escalated when the Israeli military shot down an Iranian drone who they suspect infiltrated Israel early Saturday before launching an attack on dozens of Iranian targets in Syria, Reuters reported. Israel, upon discovering the drone hovering over their territory, shot it down and sent warplanes to Syria on a mission to strike Iranian drone installations in the region. The jet came under fire from Iranian forces, however, it is unclear why the jet crashed, Reuters reported. "Twelve targets, including three aerial defence batteries and four Iranian targets that are part of Iran's military establishment in Syria were attacked," the Israeli military said in a statement. "During the attack, anti-aircraft missiles were fired towards Israel, triggering alarms that were heard in Northern Israel," the military said.

The spectacular sight of 1,218 drones forming the Olympic rings during the opening ceremony of the 2018 Winter Olympics was pre-recorded. Organisers had said that because of "possible freezing weather and strong winds" that part of the event had been "secretly pre-recorded". The International Olympic Committee said it was this footage that was used. "Due to impromptu logistical changes it (drone deployment) did not proceed," said an IOC spokesman. The feat was a Guinness World Record for drones used in a performance.

Chinese company Ehang offered a glimpse this week of what could lie ahead, releasing its first video of passengers climbing aboard its autonomous drones and taking off with the push of a button. It's one of a bunch of companies racing to bring their different versions of computer-controlled airborne taxis to market. The contenders include big plane makers like Boeing (BA) and lesser-known startups. Ehang says it first managed to carry passengers in its drones back in 2015 and has since racked up at least 40 successful journeys. It hadn't shared footage of the flights publicly until this week.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says the first round targeted in the central desert area where Syrian troops and their Iranian-backed allies including Hezbollah are known to maintain bases. It cited unconfirmed reports of casualties among Syrian government forces and allied militiamen.

An Israeli F-16 jet crashed after encountering heavy anti-aircraft from Syrian air defenses on Saturday. Israel's top military leaders were weighing the country's next move Saturday after Israeli forces shot down an Iranian drone that infiltrated the country -- and conducted raids in Syria, where they believe the drone was launched. One Israeli pilot was reported to have been seriously wounded after an emergency evacuation after his F-16 jet came under Syrian fire. The jet crashed in northern Israel. A second pilot was lightly wounded.