In 1849 Austria sent unmanned, bomb-filled balloons to attack Venice. UAV innovations started in the early 1900s and originally focused on providing practice targets for training military personnel. UAV development during World War I: the Dayton-Wright Airplane Company invented a pilotless aerial torpedo that would explode at a preset time. The earliest attempt at a powered UAV was A. M. Low's "Aerial Target" in 1916. Nikola Tesla described a fleet of unmanned aerial combat vehicles in 1915.

Until now, consumer drones have been primarily marketed towards hobbyists and filmmakers. At Mobile World Congress in Barcelona on Sunday, DJI revealed their latest drone line, the Matrice 200. These sensor-laden quadcopters are designed with commercial and industrial applications in mind. The M200 series consists of three individual models. The baseline M200, which offers a single downward-facing gimbal mount.

At the edge of a plot of muddy farmland, a few miles down the road from the University of California at Davis, an engineer takes a few quick steps across crop rows and lets go of a three-foot drone. Within seconds, the device – which weighs less than 2lbs and carries a powerful camera – ascends hundreds of feet into the cold, clear, blue sky and begins to snap detailed photos of the ground far below, including a long row of large solar panels mounted on steel poles. This flight is just a test, demonstrated by Kingsley Chen, the drone fleet coordinator for SunPower at the solar company's research and development center, which is under construction and about a two-hour drive northeast of the San Francisco Bay Area. The drone will enable SunPower to survey a wide region and help design a solar power farm that can fit more solar panels on a piece of land, more quickly and for lower costs than it previously could. The test highlights a growing use of the latest computing technologies – drones, robots, software, sensors and networks – by US companies to design, build and operate solar farms.

Global Air Media, a Baltimore drone mapping and cinematography company, plans to launch a league for teams that will build and race the unmanned aerial vehicles. While open to adults, the Baltimore Drone Racing League is geared toward youth as a way to stoke their interest in the science and technology involved in building drones, and the potential careers available in the fast-growing field.

The so-called Islamic State has used drones in the battle for Mosul in Iraq.

At about lunchtime on an unseasonably warm February day, a small commercial drone hovered alongside Highlight Tower; a striking, angular glass block soaring 126m over a suburban Autobahn on the outskirts of Munich, with equally striking views. This email address is already registered. By submitting my Email address I confirm that I have read and accepted the Terms of Use and Declaration of Consent. By submitting your personal information, you agree that TechTarget and its partners may contact you regarding relevant content, products and special offers. You also agree that your personal information may be transferred and processed in the United States, and that you have read and agree to the Terms of Use and the Privacy Policy.

The US Air Force is spending $15m on a mysterious drone killing system from an Israeli firm. The contract for'counter-unmanned aerial systems' will supply 21 kits, which are believed to be earmarked for dealing with the growing threat of drones from ISIS. However, details of the kits and how they will work have not been revealed, although it is believed to be a modified version of the firm's existing'drone shield' The deal is with ELTA North America, a U.S. subsidiary of Israeli Aerospace Industries which does produce a'drone buster' called Drone Shield, pictured here. It is believed the new system mixes scanning systems with a system to disable drones mid flight, or cause them to return to their base, allowing them to be tracked. According to Army documents, 'ELTA North America Inc., Annapolis Junction, Maryland, has been awarded a $15,553,483 firm-fixed-price letter contract for counter-unmanned aerial systems.

At about lunchtime on an unseasonably warm February day, a small commercial drone hovered alongside Highlight Tower; a striking, angular glass block soaring 126m over a suburban Autobahn on the outskirts of Munich, with equally striking views. This email address is already registered. By submitting my Email address I confirm that I have read and accepted the Terms of Use and Declaration of Consent. By submitting your personal information, you agree that TechTarget and its partners may contact you regarding relevant content, products and special offers. You also agree that your personal information may be transferred and processed in the United States, and that you have read and agree to the Terms of Use and the Privacy Policy.

At Piton de la Fournaise on the island of Réunion, every day is like a glimpse of our planet's violent youth: Chunks of boiling lava spew upward like molten fireworks, while rivers of fire cut across an ashen, constantly repaved landscape of gray. Sitting more than 400 miles off Madagascar's eastern coast, the volcano has been grumbling for 530,000 years, producing extremely fluid, basalt-rich lava flows. In modern times, it's been one of the most active volcanoes on Earth, earning its moniker "peak of the furnace." Since the 17th century, the 8,633-foot-tall peak has erupted more than 150 times. It's no surprise that the French-held island's 900,000 inhabitants treat the volcano with caution. But thanks to drone pilot and Your Shot photographer Jonathan Payet, we get to sneak a peek at the furnace in remarkable detail.

Robotics undoubtedly has the potential to improve lives in the developing world. However, with limited budgets and expertise on the ground, putting this technology in place is no small task. Step forwards WeRobotics, a new Swiss/American NGO dedicated to meeting this goal through the creation of in-country'flying labs'. Co-founder Adam Klaptocz explains all. Let's start with this: what is WeRobotics?