Now they look to the sea. Drones capable of underwater operation are little more than novelties at the moment, but the technology could advance marine research, revolutionize undersea cinematography, and let anyone explore places even experienced divers cannot reach. A handful of companies are leading this leap into the water. PowerVision, a Chinese robotics firm with 10 offices around the world, introduced its PowerRay underwater drone earlier this year. OpenROV of Berkeley, California, staged a successful crowdfunding campaign for the Trident, its remotely operated vehicle. These machines offer only limited practicality, but point the way to a future where consumer drones do all sorts of things beneath the waves.

Airbus just came up with an alternative for sitting in a car stuck in traffic -- flying over it. The company, which worked with Italdesign, unveiled the new modular transport system concept, Pop.Up, at the Geneva International Motor Show Tuesday. The concept includes a car that connects to a drone, which then lifts it in the air to avoid traffic. Pop.Up is the "first modular, fully electric, zero emission concept vehicle system" created to relieve traffic congestion, Airbus said. The aerospace group's vision of the Pop.Up system is pictured here: Airbus and Italdesign reveal concept Pop.Up, a car which attaches to a drone to fly over traffice.

Trespassing drones are becoming such a problem, says one Oklahoma lawmaker, that he wants people to be able to shoot them down without facing civil liability. State Sen. Ralph Shortey, a Republican who represents the Oklahoma City area, authored a bill that exempts people from lawsuits if they damage drones that veer onto their property, according to multiple reports. The lawmaker's measure unanimously passed out of the state Senate Judiciary Committee in late February and is headed for a full vote in the upper chamber sometime this month, according to ABC-TV affiliate KTUL.com The measure applies to drones that are not under Federal Aviation Administration regulation. "There (are) privacy issues that have not been addressed by any of the FAA regulations or state law," Shortey was quoted by KTUL as saying. "It doesn't matter how you damage that thing," Shortey said.

It look like a gadget-filled motor that would have featured on the Thunderbirds. But this British 4x4 will soon be used by search and rescue teams to help save lives during disaster relief operations. The specially developed Land Rover Discovery has an in-built drone that launches through the vehicle's roof. It will allow rescuers to drive close to the scene of major emergencies - ranging from avalanches and earthquakes to rail crashes and floods - sending back details of unseen dangers ahead. The specially developed Land Rover Discovery has an in-built drone that launches through the vehicle's roof Crucially the drone can be launched while the vehicle is in motion – at speeds of up to 25mph - thanks to ground-breaking world-first docking technology.

The Fire Department of New York (FDNY) employed a drone to assist firefighters in extinguishing a 4-alarm blaze in the Bronx on Monday. Using the drone's cameras, firefighters on the ground were able to get a bird's-eye view of the building and help direct those working to put out the flames on the roof. The Fire Department of New York (FDNY) employed a drone to assist firefighters in extinguishing a 4-alarm blaze in the Bronx on Monday. Using the drone's cameras, firefighters on the ground were able to get a bird's-eye view of the burning building The Fire Department of New York (FDNY) used a drone to assist firefighters in extinguishing a 4-alarm blaze in the Bronx on Monday at 6:20PM. Drone is fitted with a high-def and infrared camera.

Clearly annoyed by a drone hovering near her residence, a woman aims a gun at the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle in a video that is going viral. The drone's-eye video shows the drone hovering close to a house. A woman appears on the porch and throws stones at the UAV, which flies higher to avoid the projectiles. The video then shows the woman entering the house before re-emerging with a gun, which she aims at the drone. At that point whoever is piloting the drone gets the message that the UAV is unwelcome and the drone quickly flies away from the house.

We spoke to The Daily Beast to help make sense of ISIL's growing use of armed consumer drones in the conflict in Syria and Iraq. Meanwhile, we assisted The Verge in confirming that the jail sentence given to a Seattle man for crashing his drone during a parade was in fact unprecedented in the history of U.S. domestic drone use. A suspected U.S. drone strike in Pakistan killed two individuals near the border of Afghanistan. If confirmed, it would be the first U.S. drone strike in Pakistan under the Trump administration. The U.S. launched over 20 airstrikes in Yemen, targeting al-Qaeda in the Arab Peninsula.

Drone Guard can detect, identify and jam small USAVs using 3D radar and electro-optical sensors. "The jamming disrupts the drone's flight and either cause it to return to its point-of-origin or to shut down and make a crash landing," according to the AIA's press release. Nice shot of the improvised release mechanism ISIL is using to drop grenades from commercial off the shelf UAVs https://t.co/Lj8Ltx0arQ Recent images out of Iraq show that ISIS has used off-the-shelf drones from DJI and others not just for surveillance, but also bombing and one-time "suicide" explosive missions. According to Kurdish media outlet Rudaw, drones have used explosives and bombs to kills civilians and damage equipment.

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. February is only just gone, and already 2017 is shaping up to be a year full of big ideas and ambitions. The Future of Life Institute, for example, just published the Asilomar AI principles: 23 guidelines to ensure AI developments are beneficial to humanity. They are calling for shared responsibility and caution against an AI arms race.

A US drone strike killed two suspected members of al-Qaeda in southern Yemen, said a security official and residents. Saturday's raid in Ahwar, in the southern province of Abyan, killed two suspected fighters on a motorbike, the security official said. It came after two days of intensive air strikes by US warplanes on fighters in the war-torn country. Tribal sources and residents said another drone fired at a crowd of suspected al-Qaeda militants in al-Saeed, in the adjacent province of Shabwa, but there were no reports on casualties in that incident. On Friday, the Pentagon said it carried out "somewhere over 30" strikes against al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) in two days, conducted in partnership with the Yemeni government.