It's been a good week for whales. NOAA (National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration) Fisheries took nine of 14 populations of humpback whales off the endangered species list. It's a place that humpback whales have occupied since the Endangered Species Act was signed in 1973. The Marine Mammal Protection Act still applies to all humpback whale populations, and the whales will continue to be protected from hunting and other activities. New regulations will also limit the distance at which vessels can approach humpback whales in Alaska and Hawaii, where whales are frequently spotted.

Using airdrops to deliver relief to disaster zones may sound like a simple solution, but these missions have proved to be inaccurate, wasteful and expensive. With that in mind, ex-British Army veteran Nigel Gifford is developing a drone with edible wings that is capable of carrying 100-pounds of vacuum-packed food and medical supplies. Although in early stages, the'Pouncer' would be released from a plane or catapult and dropped within a 25 mile radius of the target. Nigel Gifford is developing a drone with edible wings that is capable of carrying 100-pounds of vacuum-packed food and medical supplies. Although in early stages, the'Pouncer' would be released from a plane or catapult and dropped within a 25 mile radius of the target Pouncer is the brain child of engineer and ex-British Army veteran Nigel Gifford.

The deal is expected to close in the later third or early fourth quarter this year. The two companies have not disclosed the transaction cost. Just four months ago, EE Times posted a blog entitled "Will Intel's Drone Chips Fly?" In that blog, referring to Intel's depth sensing technology called RealSense, Remi El-Ouazzane, Movidius CEO called the technology "a world-class, quality depth solution." At that time, El-Ouazzane also told us: "Practically all the chip companies currently in the drone market --Intel, Qualcomm, Nvidia and Movidius included--are going after the same target: Autonomous drones."

FILE - This Monday, Feb. 8, 2016, file photo shows a sign on the window at a Chipotle Mexican Grill in Brandon, Fla. Chipotle is taking part in a test in September 2016 that will let some Virginia Tech students and staff have their favorite tortilla-wrapped meal delivered by drone. Virginia Tech is conducting the test with Project Wing, a unit of Google owner Alphabet Inc., which makes self-flying devices that deliver food, medicine and other goods. Chipotle's burritos will be put together at a food truck and then loaded on a drone.

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. I don't know why this video of the Yellow Drum Machine popped up in my YouTube feed again, but hey, it's one of my favorite robots of all time: This video was recorded during a lucky run, usually the robot is not able to maintain balance for this long. The shaking is caused by poor state estimation (we only use onboard sensors). I'd love to see IHMC re-run the DRC Finals tasks at some point, just to illustrate how much improvement has been made in Atlas' autonomy and not-falling-over-ness.

Today on In Case You Missed It: Starship Technologies teams up with Mercedes-Benz to use the latter's Sprinter vans as "motherships" for the former's package delivery drones. China announced that it will buy the only existing Antonov An-225 airplane -- the largest and heaviest aircraft to ever fly -- and will finish construction on a second before using both to deliver construction equipment and aid in humanitarian relief efforts. Plus, listen to a hot new EDM track from Korean band Dancing Noodle, performed on honking rubber chickens. As always, please share any interesting tech or science videos you find by using the #ICYMI hashtag on Twitter for @mskerryd.

Alphabet, Google's parent company, is joining hands with fast food chain Chipotle to deliver food using drones, Bloomberg reported. The hybrid aircraft can both fly and hover in place. The experimental delivery by Alphabet's Project Wing will be available only for select employees and students at Virginia Tech. The trials are due to start this month and will last a couple of weeks. Deliveries will be made from a Chipotle delivery truck and the drones will lower the food using a winch while hovering overhead.

New York City's firefighters have a new ally that could help keep them safe: drones. They've begun testing a small, fire-engine red unmanned aerial vehicle that can take both standard and infrared images and videos. The 85,000 machine will send footage to commanders in real-time, giving them the information they need to quickly come up with the best possible response. The fire department typically sends out tactical personnel equipped with gadgets to take photos of a scene before conjuring up a course of action. However, fire department director Timothy E. Herlocker realized the advantages of deploying drones for the job after a gas explosion in 2014.

Project Wing, a subdivision of Google's parent company Alphabet, will use self-guiding drones to deliver Chipotle food at Virginia Tech this fall. The drones are capable of both flying and hovering on pre-planned routes, avoiding hazards as they go. Dave Vos, head of Project Wing, told Bloomberg that human pilots will be there to take over in case of emergency, as is required by the FAA. This specific experiment is novel, because "it's the first time that we're actually out there delivering stuff to people who want that stuff," Vos told Bloomberg. The drones will launch from a food truck, make the delivery, and return to the truck as a "home base."

Drones will give firefighters real-time information about an emergency. The New York City Fire Department is about to debut a drone that, appropriately, is painted fire engine red. The aircraft will soon be responding to fires and other emergencies, giving firefighters a clearer view of what they are facing. The LiveSky drone, created by Hoverfly, weighs eight pounds, can capture both video and infrared images and costs 85,000. New York City's landscape is filled with obstacles, and can pose a challenge for the drone's GPS as it tries to get reception.