Three military veterans once involved in the U.S. drone program have thrown their support behind a Yemeni man's legal fight to obtain details about why his family members were killed in a 2012 strike. The former soldiers' unusual decision to publicly endorse the lawsuit against President Obama and other U.S. officials adds another twist to Faisal bin Ali Jaber's four-year quest for accountability in the deaths of his brother-in-law and nephew, who he believes needlessly fell victim to one of the most lethal covert programs in U.S. history. The former enlisted service members told the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in a recent filing that they believe the 2012 drone strike serves as a case study of how mistakes frequently occur in the nation's targeted-killing program, where life-or-death decisions are based upon top-secret evidence. The veterans say they "witnessed a secret, global system without regard for borders, conducting widespread surveillance with the ability to conduct deadly targeted killing operations." Though the veterans did not disclose any personal knowledge of the strike that is alleged to have killed Jaber's relatives, they claim the military frequently labels the deaths of unknown victims as "enemy kills."

There are also USB and HDMI connections thrown in for good measure. These bells and whistle are on board to aid drones in picking up objects that are up to 50 feet away to properly map indoor areas as well as augmenting autonomous navigation. Parrot is a drone creator on its own, so it would make sense to instead include these upgrades with its own products, but it's meant to aid other platforms in accomplishing the same thing instead. It's clear that Parrot isn't in the business for furthering its own goals, as this kit will absolutely be a boon for professional drone and various robotics products as well.

Intel is not just content to build the silicon brains that will power the Rise of the Machines – it is bidding to own their eyes too, with the acquisition of computer vision developer Movidius. Movidius is 11 years old, having been founded in Dublin and transplanted to San Mateo. No price was disclosed, but the 140-strong firm has raised around 90m in funding in the past, and according to the Irish Times was valued at around 250m last year. As for its technology, it was previously used in Google's Project Tango computer vision platform, and according to its website, works with the likes of Lenovo, and DJI to "give sight to smart devices including drones, security cameras, AR/VR headsets and more". Intel's new technology group boss Josh Walden describes the deal in a blog post, saying it gives Intel "low-power, high-performance SoC platforms for accelerating computer vision applications" as well as "algorithms tuned for deep learning, depth processing, navigation and mapping, and natural interactions, as well as broad expertise in embedded computer vision and machine intelligence."

Mercedes-Benz has transformed a van into a mobile distribution center - complete with drone parking. Teaming up with drone startup Matternet, the concept'Vision Van' acts as a landing and launch pad for Matternet M2 delivery drones that can carry up to 4.4 pounds for 12 miles on a single charge. These drones connect to Mercedes-Benz van's on-board and cloud-based systems that automatically loads items into the drone with the help of robotic shelving systems. Mercedes-Benz has transformed a van into a mobile distribution center. Teaming up with drone startup Matternet, the concept'Vision Van' acts as a landing and launch pad for Matternet M2 delivery drones that can carry up to 4.4 pounds for 12 miles on a single charge Using software and robots, packages are scanned, sorted and placed in specific racks, which are then loaded on to the truck with a driverless handling vehicle. Unlike Amazon and Google, Mercedes designed its method to work alongside human workers, which steer the van using a joystick and still delivery packages on foot.

Daimler AG DDAIY 1.14 % said on Wednesday it would join with U.S. startup Matternet to develop drones for its delivery vans and invest 500 million ( 562.7 million) over the next five years in designing electric, networked vans. Daimler, the maker of Mercedes-Benz cars and trucks, acquired a minority stake in Menlo Park, Calif.-based Matternet as part of the partnership, a spokeswoman said. Daimler's overall investment in the initiative, called adVANce, will go to vehicle digitization, automation, robotics and mobility solutions technologies. "We are looking beyond the vehicle to the whole value chain and the entire environment of our clients," said van division chief Volker Mornhinweg. The goal is to turn vans into "intelligent, interconnected data centers," he said.

The automaker has invested in drone logistics developer Matternet, and the two have worked together on a Vision Van concept (above) that would make delivery drones more practical. The electric vehicle amounts to a last-mile launching pad: drones can grab packages from its "fully automated" cargo space and fly a relatively short distance to complete deliveries that would be impractical (or just slow) for a human courier. And when it would connect everyone from the distribution center to recipients, it would manage deliveries that aren't usually feasible today -- same-day delivery at a specific time, for instance, rather than making a best effort. You're probably not going to see this van roving around your neighborhood any time soon. Mercedes hasn't said anything about translating it to a production vehicle, which isn't surprising when delivery drone regulation is still nebulous at best.

A van pulls up in a village street and a ramp extends to the pavement from a side door. A swarm of wheeled robots trundle down the ramp and head off down local streets on missions of their own. Their cargo delivered, they head back up the ramp and the van drives off. This is the vision behind a new collaboration between delivery robot start-up Starship Technologies based in Tallinn, Estonia, and German car maker Mercedes-Benz. Amazon is testing flying drones to deliver packages, but the e-commerce giant faces a raft of regulatory hurdles before its bots take off.

Today on In Case You Missed It: The Jacobs Institute for Design Innovation at UC Berkeley has developed augmented reality power tools to help DIY-ers with a variety of actual home repairs by projecting information and providing feedback. Meanwhile, the Pentagon's new tech focused project has awarded a contract to Shield AI for its Autonomous Tactical Airborne Drone which requires no instructions or remote controls to scout the interior of buildings. We also learned that there's a right way and a wrong way to handle a lightsaber courtesy of a helpful safety PSA. As always, please share any interesting tech or science videos you find by using the #ICYMI hashtag on Twitter for @mskerryd.

On Monday, Intel announced that it will purchase Movidius, an Irish company that develops computer vision processors. With newly acquired chips and deep learning algorithms, Intel will be able to imbue its RealSense cameras with independent, low-power image processing. In simpler terms, the company could build drones and other devices that can "see" on their own – no human required. At the most basic level, the biological eye is used to gather information and make decisions. Using camera "eyes," computers can also extract complex understanding from visual data.

Yuneec's Breeze is a "flying camera" that's easy to operate. Yuneec's Breeze is considered a "flying camera, and sells for 499. PALOS VERDES, California: There's a new drone in town, and the company that makes it, Yuneec, says it's a total breeze to fly. No flight experience or even a flight controller is needed--you operate it all on your smart phone, with an app. Yuneec doesn't even call the Breeze a drone, but instead a "flying camera," one which the company suggests should be used for group shots and selfies.