CNN has been working towards this launch for over two years. During that time, the news network teamed up with the FAA to research the viability of drones for news gathering as well as testing the administration's Pathfinder program to put collision avoidance and traffic management systems through their paces. CNN says its shared data helped develop the framework for drones to be used in US airspace and it will continue "to expand the safe and legal operation of UAS in news gathering." The launch of CNN AIR doesn't mean the network is using drones for the first time. CNN has already tasked UAS to gather aerial views of the flooding in Louisiana and to complement reports of the water crisis in Flint, Michigan as well as Anderson Cooper's report on the 10th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina.

At Def Con, seven AI bots were pitted against one another in a game of capture the flag. The DARPA-sponsored event was more than just a fun exercise for hackers. It was meant to get more researchers and companies to focus on autonomous artificial intelligence. As part of the Department of Defense (DoD), DARPA is tasked with making sure the United States is at the forefront of this emerging field. While the country may currently be mired in a ground wars against insurgents and extremist groups, the DoD is looking at future skirmishes. The department's long-term artificial intelligence plans are focused more on conflicts with countries like Russia, China and North Korea than terrorism.

Traffic during rush-hour is an ever-growing issue for commuters. With 60 per cent of the world's population expected to live in cities by 2030, the problem is only going to get worse. But there may be good news that could cut commute times right down. Airbus is designing a fleet of self-flying taxis in the hopes of relieving urban congestion. Airbus is designing a fleet of self-flying taxis in the hopes of relieving urban congestion.

Drones are already capable of capturing stunning aerial images and videos that wouldn't be possible with grounded cameras. But combining the abilities of these airborne vehicles with 360-degree cameras produces new perspectives that are even more immersive and breathtaking. SkyPixel recently held a competition to calling for artists to submit their most impressive 360-degree aerial images. It honored six standout candidates, which includes three main winners and three recipients of its "Brilliant" prize. Photographer Stanislav Sedov's panorama of the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, which is shown above, was named the third place winner.

Video of Old Jefferson neighborhood at Barringer Rd.Park, captured by drone Tuesday morning, August 16th, 2016. When the water rises, what can you do? When torrential rains led to massive flooding in Louisiana, the floodwaters displaced thousands of people. Getting to shelter is the most important thing, but for many, the most urgent question on their mind once they found somewhere to wait out the storm was finding out if their home is still underwater. That's a hard thing to do remotely.

A compact computer called Euclid from Intel should make the development of robots much easier. Euclid looks much like the Kinect camera for Xbox consoles, but it's a self-contained PC that can be the guts of a robot. It's possible to install the Euclid computer where the "eyes" of a human-like robot would be typically placed. Intel demonstrated the Euclid computer in a robot moving on stage during CEO Brian Krzanich's keynote at the Intel Developer Forum on Tuesday. Euclid has a 3D RealSense camera that can serve as the eyes in a robot, capturing images in real-time.

Drone footage is offering a first look at a site where treasure hunters are digging for a buried Nazi train that could contain 250million worth of gold and other riches. With the dig gaining headlines around the world, the site in Walbrzych, Poland, has been sealed off to the prying eyes of the public, and the only way to get a glimpse of it is from high above. There is no guarantee the so-called'Nazi gold train' is buried there or even exists, but two explorers believe it is nearly 30ft below ground in a railway tunnel. Workers have set up fences and privacy screens to keep the public's prying eyes away In addition to gold and gems, Piotr Koper and Andreas Richter believe the site may have been used to hide the bodies of thousands of forced labourers. It could take up to 10 days for the site to be excavated.

Someday your home may need a drone landing pad. Whether its delivering packages or providing transport, drones are expected to play part of our lives in the coming years. Now, a new concept for a'Drone Tower' shows how we could shape our buildings to accommodate the rise in UAVs. As drones become more popular, eventually they will be incorporated into our homes, and blocks of flats will need to accommodate ways for the aircraft to land. A new concept for a'Drone Tower' shows how we could shape our buildings Charles Bombarier, a mechanical engineer in Quebec, Canada is founder of the blog Imaginactive, where he showcases far-fetched future design concepts.

Intel has introduced a quadcopter called Aero at its annual developers conference, and we'll bet you can guess its target audience based on the event. That's right, Aero was specifically designed not for hobbyists or for commercial purposes, but for developers who want to create and test apps for drones. The company said it's the "fastest path available from Intel for developers to get applications airborne." Aero is powered by an Atom processor and comes equipped with Intel's RealSense camera for vision. It's also preloaded with AirMap, an app that tells you where you can and can't fly, gives you real-time info on wildfires and the like, as well as gives you an easy way to plot routes.

Every drone is an answer to that fundamental question of life: could a flying robot do this better? The Skylark C, by Israel-based defense company Elbit Systems, is built to launch from a boat, take a quick look around the sea, and then return to its crew. Think of it almost like a hitchhiking seagull, only instead of demanding snacks it captures pictures of potential enemies. As a maritime vessel organic asset, Skylark C provides the capabilities to inspect maritime activities from a safe distance, observe targets from a bird's eye view, perform reconnaissance over coastal areas and perform continuous covert surveillance, thus extending the vessel's ISR capabilities with respect to range, rate and quality of information obtained. In essence, Elbit is billing its new drone as an easy-to-use flying scout, which can take a closer look than the people on board the small ship that launched it.