Brimblecombe-Fox: I am dismayed to read reports that people, who live in places where drone surveillance and potential attack are persistent threats, are afraid of the sky--often too fearful to venture outside. I wonder about what kind of world we are living in, where on the one hand cosmological research delves into the vastness of the universe, but on the other hand some people are afraid to look up at the sky. Many of my paintings play with ideas of a'new sky' created by the increasing persistence of long range and long dwell drone capabilities. I imagine skies replete with signals, data and digital images. For example, in New Sky I have painted three blue drones, each armed with Hellfire and guided bombs.

The emergence of terrorist drones flown by ISIS in Iraq has fueled interest in drone-defense technology – while raising questions about whether the U.S. is ready for potential drone terrorist attacks on the homeland. Over the last six months, ISIS has increased its use of weaponized and surveillance drones against Iraqi and U.S. forces. U.S. Central Command told Fox News coalition troops have as many as 30 encounters a week with unmanned aerial vehicles. These drones are inexpensive ones modified to drop grenades or to surveil troop movements. Underscoring the accessibility and affordability of these drones: During the last two months, the U.S. military has destroyed at least five ISIS drone facilities, including one factory and four storage facilities.

Last year, I asked a simple question: Can drone racing become as big as eSports? While we wait to find out, one of the leading race organizers -- the Drone Racing League -- is making all the right moves this year to make that answer yes. One of the keys to achieving that, the DRL hopes, is the introduction of the Racer3 drone, which will be the standard craft all pilots in the DRL race with. Unsurprisingly, it's more powerful and agile than its predecessor (the Racer2, obviously) and could be the shot in the arm the sport needs to go mainstream. The Racer3 should make races -- which air on ESPN starting June 20th -- even more thrilling, luring more fans (and, by association, lucre) to the game.

Canon is arguably the biggest name in photography, but the Japanese company has managed to stay out of the aerial photography game so far. That's about to change with the extremely pricey (and very elegantly named) PD6E2000-AW-CJ1 six-rotor drone, designed to carry the company's ultra high-end ME20F-SH camera into search and rescue situations. The drone platform doesn't look too different from existing pro-level equipment like DJI's modular M600 system, but it does offer the incredibly high 4 million ISO that makes the ME20F-SH the perfect camera for extremely dark situations. The drone is weather proof and the two-axis gimbal can carry up to 10 kilograms, but other than that the main selling point seems to be the camera it carries. That kind of light sensitivity doesn't come cheap though: according to Canon Rumors, the drone costs a whopping $20,000, which reportedly does not include the $20,000 price tag on the camera itself.

Flying air taxis and'vertiports' could become fixtures across American cityscapes as companies including Uber race to introduce the technology. The taxis, called e-VTOLs or'electric vertical take off and landing(s),' are being tested by multiple tech firms including Google and Airbus, the New York Post reported. One model, the single-passenger EHang 184 Autonomous Aerial Vehicle, is due to start flying in Dubai in July. The Dubai vehicles, which are made by a Chinese drone company, can fly a passenger who weighs less than 220 pounds for up to 23 minutes. A model from Uber shows a'vertiport' and an in-transit e-VTOL or'electric vertical take off and landing.'

As 2016 rounded off, the year marked a significant economic increase in construction projects. Within the first 10 months, the US Census Bureau reported... A few weeks ago we got in contact with DRL, the premier drone racing league. They offered to let us ask some questions about... So you have noticed Drone Racing has been getting popular recently.

Connecticut lawmakers are considering whether the state should become the first in the country to allow police to use drones outfitted with deadly weapons, a proposal immediately met with concern by civil rights and liberties advocates. The bill would ban the use of weaponized drones, but exempt police. Details on how law enforcement could use drones with weapons would be spelled out in new rules to be developed by the state Police Officer Standards and Training Council. Officers also would have to receive training before being allowed to use drones with weapons. "Obviously this is for very limited circumstances," said Republican state Sen. John Kissel, of Enfield, co-chairman of the Judiciary Committee that approved the measure Wednesday and sent it to the House of Representatives.

This week (April 05-07, 2017), the Sands Expo Center in Las Vegas will host ISC West 2017 in what they say is "the largest security industry trade show in the U.S.", drawing an estimated 29,000 security professionals. The show will feature ISC West's first-ever Unmanned Security Expo focused on Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), Unmanned Ground Vehicles (UGVs) and various systems to support robotic technology. The Expo will include a fully functional flight cage and robotics demonstration area, booth exhibits and free education sessions. Robolliance--a forum for technology partners and industry experts in robotics, surveillance and security, created to advance the understanding and awareness of the Autonomous Robotics marketplace--is one of the four primary supporters of the Unmanned Security Expo. Robolliance sponsors--comprised of technology companies, security integrators and industry thought leaders--will be on hand April 5th-7th to welcome attendee inquiries and address the greater questions of "Why Robotics? Robolliance welcomes anyone curious about robotics for security to visit Booths 3135 and 4136. Unmanned Security Expo Booth 3135 will feature all the Sponsors of Robolliance, who have come together to share their resources and shine a light on the importance of unmanned systems to augment current security technology and human guarding. Directly across from the Robolliance Sponsor Showcase, in Booth 4136, will be the Expert Corner. Experts will be available all three days to talk one-on-one with attendees and address their questions. Robolliance experts will also be participating in Security Industry Association ("SIA") education panels that some include an attending charge. Robolliance expects to have 10-15 experts there throughout the three-day event. The slate of experts has been curated by founding Robolliance Sponsor, Sharp Electronics Corporation, who will also be on hand in the Sponsor Showcase as well as in their Booth #3137 that features the Sharp INTELLOS Automated Unmanned Ground Vehicle (A-UGV). "Hardcar was pleasantly surprised to find Robolliance in the unmanned industry.

A quick, hassle-free way to stay on top of robotics news, our robotics digest is released on the first Monday of every month. Sign up to get it in your inbox. March is a month for change and new beginnings. The new UK Budget promised hundreds of millions of pounds to scientists and researchers to develop solutions to hi-tech challenges, including artificial intelligence and robotics, next generation batteries and new techniques for manufacturing medicines. The government is expected to allocate more than £500 million from the National Productivity Investment Fund so that UK companies might lead the way in the new technologies set to transform the world.

Up to ten crimes involving drones are reported to police every day amid a surge in their popularity, an investigation has found. Drones are at the centre of thousands of incidents such as rows between neighbours, prison smuggling, 'scoping' before burglaries, mid-air near misses and snooping. Crimes logged by police rocketed between 2014 and 2016 – last year there were 3,456 incidents, equivalent to nearly ten a day. It is almost triple the 2015 figure of 1,237 and more than 12 times the 2014 tally of 283. The true total is likely to be higher as full data was not available for all UK forces.