Video Friday is your weekly selection of awesome robotics videos, collected by your Automaton bloggers. We'll also be posting a weekly calendar of upcoming robotics events for the next two months; here's what we have so far (send us your events!): Let us know if you have suggestions for next week, and enjoy today's videos. We've written about extra robot arms for humans in the past, but these are more complicated and perhaps capable than most: I'm not completely sold on the control system here, since it essentially means you're trading the use of your legs for the use of some extra arms. If this isn't enough reason to get a RoboThespian, I don't know what is: ROBOTIS was running this demo at ICRA as well; the first TurtleBot is using its laser for person-detection and following, while the other TurtleBots are wirelessly following the first.

The United States Central Command, which oversees military operations in the Middle East, said in a statement that it wanted to keep the focus on fighting the Islamic State and was not looking for a confrontation with the Assad government -- or with the Russian and Iranian-backed forces that are supporting it. "The coalition does not seek to fight Syrian regime, Russian or pro-regime forces partnered with them. To protect the garrison at al-Tanf, the United States has warned Iranian-backed militias and Syrian forces to stay out of the "deconfliction" zone it has declared around the base. On June 6, the American-led coalition again bombed Iranian-backed fighters that ventured inside of the restricted area.

This story was originally published on flyingmag.com The Wild West of drone regulation as we know it may soon cease to exist. If lawmakers have their way, state and local governments--including Native American tribal authorities--could soon have the power to regulate the use of Unmanned Aircraft Systems as they see fit. At least, that's what a group of Democratic and Republican members of Congress are pitching as the Drone Federalism Act. The biggest takeaway from the bill is a provision that allows state, local and Native American tribal authorities to regulate how hobbyists and businesses can operate their drones below 200 feet and within 200 feet of a structure, with the option to seek assistance from the FAA. "State, local, and tribal governments have a legitimate interest in protecting public safety and privacy from the misuse of drones," Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein said in a statement.

In the event of a natural disaster that disrupts phone and Internet systems over a wide area, autonomous aircraft could potentially hover over affected regions, carrying communications payloads that provide temporary telecommunications coverage to those in need. However, such unpiloted aerial vehicles, or UAVs, are often expensive to operate, and can only remain in the air for a day or two, as is the case with most autonomous surveillance aircraft operated by the U.S. Air Force. Providing adequate and persistent coverage would require a relay of multiple aircraft, landing and refueling around the clock, with operational costs of thousands of dollars per hour, per vehicle. Now a team of MIT engineers has come up with a much less expensive UAV design that can hover for longer durations to provide wide-ranging communications support. The researchers designed, built, and tested a UAV resembling a thin glider with a 24-foot wingspan.

Kar-go the robotic pod (artist's impression pictured) could soon be delivering packages direct to your front door, if the startup firm behind its creation can find funding to create a fleet of the vehicle Kar-Go uses state of the art artificial intelligence software to detect and manoeuvre around hazards. As the vehicle arrives at each delivery address, the system automatically selects the package belonging to the corresponding customer for delivery. The Academy of Robotics, has already gained permission from the UK government to test out a prototype of the vehicle (pictured) on public roads. As the vehicle arrives at each delivery address, the system automatically selects the package belonging to the corresponding customer.

An American F-15 warplane has shot down a pro-government drone in Syria after it fired at coalition forces, officials said, marking an escalation of tensions in the war-torn country's south. No one was hurt in Thursday's incident which occurred near the coalition's At-Tanaf garrison close to the Jordan border, Colonel Ryan Dillon, spokesman for the coalition against ISIL (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant), told Pentagon reporters. The drone "was armed and still had weapons on it when it was fired upon by US forces from an aircraft", said Dillon. Although the weapon deployed by the drone deployed hit only dirt, the action was "clearly meant" as an attack, added Dillon. Dillon said it was not immediately clear who owned the drone. "Regardless of what kind of drone it was, it fired upon our coalition forces, and therefore showed hostile intent, and it was perceived as a threat," he said.

WASHINGTON – A drone likely connected to Iranian-supported militias fired on U.S.-backed troops near a military camp in southern Syria on Thursday, near where the U.S.-led coalition is training Syrian rebels fighting the Islamic State group, an American military spokesman said. The weapon fired by the drone did not detonate and no one was hurt, but Army Col. Ryan Dillon told reporters at the Pentagon that it was considered a direct threat and that a manned U.S. aircraft shot it down. The attack came just hours after the U.S. bombed Syrian government and allied troops inside a protected zone in that area, and marked a sharp escalation in the skirmishes between the coalition and those pro-Syrian government forces there. Dillon said this was the first time that forces supporting Damascus had attacked coalition troops in that region, which is near the training camp in Tanf, close to the border with Jordan. He declined to say who owned or operated the drone, but other officials said it was likely Iranian or Iranian-backed Hezbollah.

Enterprise asset management software (EAM) has been around for more than 20 years. Over that time, it's evolved from simply providing tools for managing asset maintenance to being able to provide a way for organizations to track their assets -- anything from an HVAC system to a key piece of manufacturing equipment, to a stretch of railroad track -- and record their condition, get alerts about the need for preventative maintenance, extend the life cycle of those assets, and of course, manage work orders. Until now, improvements to EAM systems have largely been evolutionary, not revolutionary. We're already starting to see new technologies that are making EAM a clear differentiator for companies. Ultimately, the future of EAM will be about information exchange between devices/components and people.

The Lumi Quadcopter from WowWee averages 3.6 stars out of 5 on Amazon, which isn't earth-shattering, but at its currently discounted price you're sure to get your money's worth. EZ flight technology allows for instant drone stabilization, and for awesome aerial tricks with very little effort. But this Quadcopter also features a "Follow-Me" mode, where Lumi follows its pilot's every move. So where you go, Lumi follows. You can also program Lumi to perform custom choreographies to the beat of your music.

Every time we go to a conference, we see flying robots that are getting smaller and more talented, capable of dynamically avoiding all sorts of obstacles, indoors and out. What's less work is floating calmly through the air, without any concern for hurting people or running into things, or running out of battery: Such is the life of the gentle and slightly chubby Miniature Autonomous Blimp from Georgia Tech (GT-MAB), which can now detect faces and autonomously follow people around. Using a blimp rather than something with spinning rotors solves lots of common problems with UAVs, though it also creates a few new ones. A blimp is inherently very safe, since impacts, even with people, are more comical than dangerous. Without wasting energy keeping itself aloft, battery life is measured in hours rather than minutes, and hovering in particular is very energy efficient, since it's the default state of the blimp.