A UPS drone as it takes a three-mile test flight over open ocean outside of Boston. The test was one of a series of tests to show unmanned aerial vehicles can safely be used for deliveries in the United States. The drone was built by CyPhy, a Danvers, Mass.-based drone and technology company. A UPS drone took a three mile trip over open ocean outside of Salem, Mass. The test was meant to simulate delivery of urgently needed medicine from Beverly, Mass. to Children's Island, which is home to a YMCA day camp.

Ancient Roman ruins that lie hidden below the surface at the Apennine Mountains of Italy have largely escaped discovery because the rugged terrain makes them difficult to spot by foot and dangerous to find by airplane. Now, using small airborne drones, archaeologists have found that an ancient settlement in the Apennines was much more dense and organized than previously thought, a new study reveals. The study offered evidence that drones could help uncover more unknown sites in mountains worldwide. Scientists investigated the area of Le Pianelle in the Tappino Valley in the mountainous southern Italian region of Molise. This area was known as Samnium in antiquity.

The system, dubbed "DroneRad," can go on either FlyCam's Cypher 6 hexacopter or FlyCam's The NEO octacopter, either of which seem like they're straight out of a cyberpunk novel set in 1998. The existing DroneRad sensor is just for radiation, but additional sensor sets could instead look for airborne chemical weapons like chlorine and nerve as, or for bioweapons like anthrax. There's also an option for the future that can pick up on methane and diesel fumes. FlyCam isn't the first drone to do this. As more and more drones are outfitted with chemical sniffers, the correct response to "does that smell weird?" in the future may just be sending a robot to check.

Some say the best way to catch a criminal is to be one-step ahead, but a California startup believes it is better to be one-step above. Aptonomy has developed a self-flying drone that it claims is much cheaper than employing humans, and more effective than cameras and alarms. Dubbed'flying security guard', the drone is an octocopter equipped with cameras, a loudspeaker and blinding lights to scare unwanted visitors away. The team modified a DJI Spreading Wings S100 drones by adding the cameras and computers that navigate the drones around the property, avoid obstacles and search for things that should not be present in its range. Drones are programmed with the area to patrol and spots unwanted intruders with its onboard cameras.

Drone designs are usually a choice between flexibility and endurance. You can either go with a multirotor that'll let you hover and make pinpoint landings, or you can go with a flying wing, which can handle bigger payloads and longer ranges. Finding a compromise is difficult, and usually, it's also very messy. Amazon and Google, for example, are both working on delivery drones that have a whole bunch of frequently superfluous motors and propellers that help the drone to transition between hovering and efficient forward flight. Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands has a history of managing to make successful drones that combine the best features of VTOL and fixed-wing flight.

Stocks fluctuated during the afternoon session as nerves over the Federal Reserve's meeting this week peaked. Fed speak has become increasingly hawkish in recent weeks. A link has been sent to your friend's email address. Stocks fluctuated during the afternoon session as nerves over the Federal Reserve's meeting this week peaked. Fed speak has become increasingly hawkish in recent weeks.

Ahmad Khan Rahami, the man suspected of planting a series of bombs in New York and New Jersey over the weekend, praised Anwar Awlaki in handwritten notes found on his person after he was wounded in a shootout Monday. FBI agents recovered a notebook from Rahami after he was wounded by police in Linden, N.J., a U.S. official told the Los Angeles Times. In the notebook, Rahami describes his affinity for Awlaki, the American-born Islamic cleric who became a leader of Al Qaeda in Yemen. Awlaki was killed in a CIA drone strike in 2011, but his legacy has spread among jihadists thanks to online audio and video sermons. The notebook also contained ramblings about the Boston Marathon bombers, the official said.

A typical GoPro camera launch is much how you'd imagine it to be: Extreme sport athletes perform for the press at a beautiful outdoorsy location. But where I am today is not a typical GoPro launch. That won't happen for a few weeks yet, when CEO and Founder Nick Woodman will present the company's much-anticipated Karma drone to the world. Karma's reveal will be the climax to one of GoPro's most scrutinized business moves yet. After multiple delays and much investor speculation, it's important that GoPro get this one right.

According to market research firm Forrester Research, more than 6% of jobs currently performed by human beings will be taken over by robots in the next five years. We all knew the day was coming when robots would become more intelligent and start replacing human beings at the workplace, especially in jobs that need to follow a set pattern or jobs that are repetitive in nature. But that day seems closer than ever with retailers like Amazon (AMZN) and Wal-Mart (WMT) seemingly on the cusp of using automation on a large scale. For a company like Amazon, automation is nothing new. They already have robots manning their warehouses, and the company has been working for a while testing drone deliveries in the U.K. The U.S. government refused permission for drone testing, so Amazon is doing it across the pond.

The drone turned slowly with a loud buzzing sound, red and blue lights flashing, and hit me right in the eyes with a spotlight. "Security has been notified," boomed a smooth voice from the aircraft's twin loudspeakers. Startup Aptonomy thinks this experience can keep intruders out of factories, warehouses, and other facilities more cheaply than human guards can and more effectively than cameras and alarms. I received the drone security guard treatment in a demonstration at the company's testing area on Treasure Island, an old naval base in San Francisco Bay. Cofounder Mihail Pivtoraiko says his drones will be ready to go on patrol next year.