Camera-carrying drones are among this year's hottest holiday gifts, with models like DJI's Phantom series flying off store shelves. But drones can be expensive, cumbersome and tough to learn to fly. A Swiss company called Fotokite aims to address those concerns with its new Fotokite Phi, a $249 foldable drone with a unique twist: Instead of flying freely, it stays tethered to a handheld controller. Launching the drone involves taking it out of a Pringles can-like case, unfolding the wings, syncing the controller and giving the Phi a twist. After a few seconds of orienting itself, the Phi revs up to takeoff speed, at which point you release your grip on the drone as it takes to the sky. Similar to flying a kite, the Phi's altitude depends on how much line you give it.

Drones are flying bundles of sensors and radio waves, sometimes put to nefarious purpose. In Iraq, the insurgent group ISIS put this combination to deadly effect, killing enemies and assembling a small aerial arsenal. Small, deadly drones used to kill are relatively new to battlefields, so companies are making new weapons to take drones down. The latest, from DroneShield, is the plainly-named "Dronegun." The company claims the weapon has a range of over a mile, and promises to immediately cease video transmission back to the drone operator.

The'DroneGun' blocks drones from flying and can also jam their GPS Gun is designed to stop drones carrying explosives or other weapons It weighs only 13lbs (6kg) and can be operated by just one person It disables drones in a safe and controlled manner, away from target zones The'DroneGun' blocks drones from flying and can also jam their GPS The DroneGun is a signal-jamming rifle capable of taking out an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) from 1.2 miles (2km) away'I spy, with my little drone...': This is the world's... China unveils its answer to Amazon's Echo: The $118 LingLong... The AI that gives you a voice: Lip-reading machine... Why Mars astronauts risk going BLIND: Scientists finally... 'I spy, with my little drone...': This is the world's... China unveils its answer to Amazon's Echo: The $118 LingLong... The AI that gives you a voice: Lip-reading machine... Why Mars astronauts risk going BLIND: Scientists finally...

High street retailers could be a thing of the past by 2050 as virtual reality takes over the way we shop, experts predict. The only time we can expect to be asked "Are you being served?" is when interacting with an artificially intelligent app. The kind of department store epitomised by Grace Brothers in the 1970s sitcom of that name is likely to be consigned to history by the middle of the century. Instead people will make all their purchases from home, trying on clothes in virtual reality changing rooms and getting advice from AI (artificial intelligence) shop assistants that know exactly how to cater for their tastes. Online deliveries dropped into the back garden by flying robot drones will become a part of every day life.

SkyPixel and drone maker DJI teamed up for a contest that features both'enthusiast' and'professional' groups to which users can submit their photos taken by drones. Pictured is'Infinite road to Transylvania', an image by Calin Stan. Apple's spaceship is almost ready for takeoff: Latest drone... Meet Tim, the rolling robot that keeps CERN running:... Australia's Great Barrier Reef in crisis as scientists... From ripping flesh from the dead to EATING their remains:... Apple's spaceship is almost ready for takeoff: Latest drone... Meet Tim, the rolling robot that keeps CERN running:... Australia's Great Barrier Reef in crisis as scientists... From ripping flesh from the dead to EATING their remains:... Dirkie Heydenrych is next with his'Ship Wreck at L'Agulhas' (pictured), which he used a DJI Phantom 3 Advance drone to capture. It shows a deteriorating vessel in the sea off the coast of South Africa. 'Dronie' by Manish Mamtani is next, which he used a DJI Phantom 3 while shooting in New Hampshire.

Apple's spaceship is almost ready for takeoff: Latest drone video reveals'almost complete' building Latest aerial footage flying over the construction site in Cupertino was captured by a drone flying overhead Compared to the last footage, most of the walls and solar panels have been put in their place The auditorium is fitted with the world's largest carbon fiber roof and the parking garage is finished Apple Campus 2 is set to open in the 2nd quarter of 2017, which is when 13,000 employees will move in The auditorium is fitted with the world's largest carbon fiber roof and the parking garage is finished A new flyover of Apple's mothership reveals the massive $5 billion Campus 2 is nearly complete. Google goes to sea! New patent reveals bizarre ship pulled... Fusion breakthrough as researchers reveal liquid metal... World's first farmers were ANTS: Fijian species planted... Google goes to sea! New patent reveals bizarre ship pulled... Fusion breakthrough as researchers reveal liquid metal... World's first farmers were ANTS: Fijian species planted... The circular, four-storey building will be around a mile in circumference and a third of a mile wide and was recently described by the San Fransisco Weekly as a'massive glass doughnut'. Built on a massive 175 acres, the finished campus will span 2.8 million square feet house 13,000 Apple techies and be self-sufficient with 7,000 trees planted in the dirt removed from the park to build the compound Built on a massive 175 acres, the finished campus will span 2.8 million square feet house 13,000 Apple techies and be self-sufficient with 7,000 trees planted in the dirt removed from the park to build the compound. Apple CEO Tim Cook said the firm will move in the first employees in 2017, which will play a key role in the tech giant's ability to host larger events versus relying on other facilities for help.

There are all kinds of creative ways of dealing with rogue drones: Radio jamming. None of these are really designed to handle military drones, however, and large, fast-moving UAVs are still a potential threat, especially if more than one is coming at you at once. It's no surprise that the U.S. Army has been developing solutions for this potential threat-- we're not sure what they're working on now, but as of late 2013, Raytheon was successfully testing a long range, high power directed microwave weapon capable of taking out swarms of drones in milliseconds. The Phaser is essentially a high powered microwave (HPM) cannon that runs on a diesel engine. Exactly how powerful this thing is (and what its range is) is still classified, but we do know that it can be tuned to either "disrupt" or "damage," where for most drones, "damage" seems to be synonymous with "destroy."

There are numerous systems built to take down wayward or dangerous drones, but they tend to have one big catch: you need to be relatively close to the drone, which could be scary if the robotic aircraft is packing explosives. DroneShield thinks it can help. Like most rivals, it doesn't destroy the target drone -- it just forces the vehicle to land or return to its starting point. Anti-drone teams can not only disable threats from a safe distance, but potentially locate their pilots. It's not the lightest machine at about 13 pounds, but it's portable enough to be usable by one person. You don't need technical training, either, so it's easy for security staff to use.

LOS ANGELES -- There was lots of talk about virtual reality in 2016, but most of it was looking forward to trends that might come true in a few years. The real action, however, was in another form of reality, the augmented kind. AR, or augmented reality, tops our annual list of tech innovations for 2016, highlighted, of course, by the Pokémon Go app, and all those crazy filters we added to our Snapchat photos. Snapchat, the app originally beloved for sending photos that could disappear within 10 seconds, has expanded into a service some 150 million visit daily, fueled by the selfie lens, where you can add cat ears and rainbow tongues to your photos and videos. In November, it went one step further with the introduction of "World Lenses," which put smiles onto ordinary clouds in the background of your photo, or add falling rain or snow to an image.

LOS ANGELES -- There was lots of talk about virtual reality in 2016, but most of it was looking forward to trends that might come true in a few years. The real action, however, was in another form of reality, the augmented kind. AR, or augmented reality, tops our annual list of tech innovations for 2016, highlighted, of course, by the Pokémon Go app, and all those crazy filters we added to our Snapchat photos. Snapchat, the app originally beloved for sending photos that could disappear within 10 seconds, has expanded into a service some 150 million visit daily, fueled by the selfie lens, where you can add cat ears and rainbow tongues to your photos and videos. In November, it went one step further with the introduction of "World Lenses," which put smiles onto ordinary clouds in the background of your photo, or add falling rain or snow to an image.