As we've pointed out over the last few years, there are some issues with the idea of urban or suburban delivery drones. Besides the fact that they're illegal right now, the biggest technological problem is that none of the delivery drones that we've seen so far seem to have any kind of sense-and-avoid capability that could realistically deal with the challenges of urban airspace, including everything from other drones to light aircraft to birds to trees to overhead wiring. There are some drones that try to use cameras for this, and at least one that relies on lidar, but for reliable all-weather sensing with the kind of range and resolution that you'd need for safe autonomous flight, the best answer might be to just do what aircraft have been doing for decades: use radar. To be fair, there are lots of excellent reasons why drones haven't been using radar for sense and avoid. The kind of radar that's small enough and affordable enough to fit on a drone is the kind that you're likely to find in cars with adaptive cruise control.

Intel's new display drones could enable companies to program their designs using the software and launch an army of advertising drones to spell out their name in lights'With this drone, we will be able to demonstrate that drone light shows can redefine entertainment and create amazing new experiences in the night sky,' said Anil Nanduri, Intel's vice president of its New Technology Group No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules.

The most entertaining video we posted on Video Friday a couple weeks ago was almost certainly Robot Drone Man, a parody of this PPAP (Pen Pineapple Apple Pen) video, which for some reason has 150 million views on YouTube. Parody or not, Robot Drone Man actually exists, and it's a project of Ilhan Bae, a researcher and futurist at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), who wrote in to tell us about it. Robot Drone Man is an avatar drone, in the same category as other telepresence robots like Double and Beam. It allows a remote human to have an embodied physical presence through a mobile robot, although in this case, the robot can fly, since most of it is a DJI S1000 octocopter. With a height of 1.4 meters (landed), it's designed to match the eye level of people interacting with it, and the remote operator can "gesticulate with two hands and head as if a distant operator exists in person," says Bae, adding that this is "the first trial to couple a telepresence robot in an upright position and drone platform into one body."

To better understand ISIS drones, I spoke with an investigator at Conflict Armament research, who requested anonymity given the sensitive nature of the work. When the investigator entered the workshop, there were no completed drones inside. Instead, they saw plywood fuselages and styrofoam wings, as well as a missile from a man-portable anti-air defense system, or MANPADS. "For us it implied that they were trying to arm it, arm their drones with something that would be light enough to be carried by a drone, but also that would have the right kind of explosives for potency," they said. Many of their finding were published in a report on the Islamic State's Weaponized Drones.

Anti-drone defense systems are about to become big business. T-Mobile parent company Deutsche Telekom has confirmed to Welt am Sonntag that it's developing an anti-drone defense system that should launch this year. It's not discussing details, but it would be offered as a security feature for airports, stadiums and other venues where robotic flyers are unwelcome or outright dangerous. Reportedly, car manufacturers are particularly eager for Deutsche Telekom's help -- they're annoyed by journalists (and no doubt competitors) using drones to snap photos of pre-production cars. Welt sources understand that the system (which was tested in July) involves technology from multiple companies, including US-based Dedrone.

We all have our own way of transcending the banality of everyday life. A good book, going to the gym, watching our football teams struggle to reach the heights or avoid the lows. Taking to the sky with a drone is peak escapism, an adrenaline blast that, for a few short minutes, raises the pulse, puts a stupid grin on your face and revives childhood dreams. With so many jostling for your attention, though, which drone do you choose? Some drones are small and cheap, can be used to terrorise pets and are controlled only with your smartphone.

Security researchers in Canada and Israel have discovered a way to take over the Internet of Things (IoT) from the sky. Okay, that's a little dramatic, but the researchers were able to take control of some Philips Hue lights using a drone. Based on an exploit for the ZigBee Light Link Touchlink system, white hat hackers were able to remotely control the Hue lights via drone and cause them to blink S-O-S in Morse code. The drone carried out the attack from more than a thousand feet away. Using the exploit, the researchers were able to bypass any prohibitions against remote access of the networked light bulbs, and then install malicious firmware.

Intel has unveiled its Shooting Star quadcopter drone, designed exclusively for light shows. The company, which put its own drone swarms in the air around the world in 2015, has come out with another model -- one with a software that will help a drone create an intended image. The software will even choose drones based on GPS reception quality and remaining battery life. This drone could help design elaborate light shows in a shorter duration. "With this drone, we will be able to demonstrate that drone light shows can redefine entertainment and create amazing new experiences in the night sky. " Anil Nanduri, vice president, new technology group, and general manager UAV segment, Intel Corporation, said in the official press release.

MOSUL, IRAQ/SALAHIYAH IRAQ – Iraq's special forces worked Sunday to clear neighborhoods on the eastern edge of Islamic State-held Mosul as bombings launched by the extremist group elsewhere in the country killed at least 20 people. The Mosul offensive has slowed in recent days as Iraqi forces have pushed into more densely populated areas, where they cannot rely as much on airstrikes and shelling because of the risk posed to civilians, who have been told to stay in their homes. "There are a lot of civilians and we are trying to protect them," said Lt. Col. Muhanad al-Timimi. "This is one of the hardest battles that we've faced till now." Some civilians are fleeing the combat zone, while IS militants are holding others back for use as human shields, making it harder for Iraqi commanders on the ground to get approval for requested U.S.-led coalition airstrikes.

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. The 2016 U.S. Robotics Roadmap was released this week; it's a massive document authored by 150 roboticists that's intended to help frame and guide research and policy decisions with the goal of solving societal problems in the United States. We'll be taking a closer look at it, but here's a 30-minute summary from lead editor Henrik Christensen: The legged robot ANYmal can support disaster relief teams with safer search and rescue operations. With its advanced locomotion capabilities, ANYmal can operate in rough outdoor environments, crawl through pipes, and access buildings over steps and stairs.