While everyone on the ground is stressing about self-driving cars, the future of flight is also moving more toward autonomous planes, as seen at the 2019 edition of the Paris Air Show. The air show is one of the biggest aerospace events annually and everyone from established names to newer companies showed off concept craft and prototype vehicles. Boeing (yes, the same company reeling from two deadly plane crashes and grounded 737 Max planes around the world) displayed its idea for the autonomous Passenger Air Vehicle, while rival Airbus also floated the idea of pilot-less planes and hybrid and electric passenger jets by 2035. Airbus' Vahana is a small, passenger-carrying electric, autonomous vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) craft, and the company showed a video of the plane in flight during the show, along with a model of the plane. Airbus' all-electric, single-seat Vahana could be pilot-less.

ZHUHAI, CHINA – China is unleashing stealth drones and pilotless aircraft fitted with AK-47 rifles onto world markets, racing to catch up to U.S. technology and adding to a fleet that has already seen combat action in the Middle East. Combat drones were among the jet fighters, missiles and other military hardware shown off this past week at Airshow China, the country's biggest aerospace industry exhibition. A delta-winged stealth drone received much attention, highlighting China's growing production of sophisticated unmanned aerial vehicles seeking to compete with the U.S. military's massive fleet. The CH-7 -- a charcoal-gray UAV unveiled at the air show -- is as long as a tennis court and has a 22-meter (72-feet) wingspan. It can fly at more than 800 kph (500 mph) and at an altitude of 13,000 meters (42,650 feet).

LONDON, / CHICAGO – Boffins at U.K. engineering giant Rolls-Royce proudly displayed an array of miniature robots at this year's Farnborough air show, best known as a major marketplace for passenger planes but also a test bed for the aviation industry's wilder imaginings. Designed to speed up engine overhauls, the manufacturer's tiny cockroach-like drones would remove the need for power plants to be detached from aircraft during maintenance work. The "swarming" bots, less than half an inch across, are designed to roam engine turbines in gangs, beaming pictures back to inspection crews after being deposited by so-called "snake" hosts that work their way through the engine. If the bots don't get you the drones will. The biannual air show was awash with unmanned aerial vehicles, or UAVs, ranging from delivery craft that guarantee to gently deposit a parcel by your door to the latest military types intent on blowing stuff up.

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.