Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson discusses a craft that can fly autonomously without any human intervention. Imagine a helicopter that can take off, fly and land without a human pilot. CLICK TO GET KURT'S FREE CYBERGUY NEWSLETTER WITH SECURITY ALERTS, QUICK VIDEO TIPS, TECH REVIEWS, AND EASY HOW-TO'S TO MAKE YOU SMARTER The R550X is a revolutionary helicopter from Rotor Technologies. It is special because it is the first of its kind to be designed for civilian use, not military or law enforcement. It can perform a variety of missions, such as crop spraying, cargo delivery, firefighting, surveillance, inspection, mapping, surveying, research, exploration, entertainment, and more.

Distributed planning, communication, and control algorithms for autonomous robots make up a major area of research in computer science. But in the literature on multirobot systems, security has gotten relatively short shrift. In the latest issue of the journal Autonomous Robots, researchers from MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory and their colleagues present a new technique for preventing malicious hackers from commandeering robot teams' communication networks. The technique could provide an added layer of security in systems that encrypt communications, or an alternative in circumstances in which encryption is impractical. "The robotics community has focused on making multirobot systems autonomous and increasingly more capable by developing the science of autonomy. In some sense we have not done enough about systems-level issues like cybersecurity and privacy," says Daniela Rus, an Andrew and Erna Viterbi Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at MIT and senior author on the new paper.

BERKELEY – When scale model helicopters pass through a makeshift "urban canyon" in a test field, or engage in a game of aerial "chicken", the drills may look like a robotic stunt show to outside eyes. Members of the university's Berkeley Aerial Robot (BEAR) program have successfully conducted a series of field tests with 130-pound helicopters that not only fly autonomously -- without human control -- but that also react to avoid obstacles in their flight path. "Our BEAR group is the first to successfully develop a system where autonomous helicopters can detect obstacles, stationary or moving, and recompute their course in real-time to reach the original target destination," said David Hyunchul Shim, a research engineer on the project who first began this work as a UC Berkeley Ph.D. student in mechanical engineering. With these achievements, the researchers are inching towards a future of robo-copters that could maneuver through city streets or forested landscapes. The development of reliable systems that can handle obstacle-avoidance tasks is still several years away, researchers said, but the computational foundations for such unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have been laid.

Last year, Airbus unveiled its plans to create a fleet of self-flying taxis to help commuters avoid the ever-growing issue of traffic during rush-hour. And it seems that we might not have to wait long to hail a flying car. Airbus has revealed that it plans to test its first single-person prototype by the end of 2017. Last year, Airbus unveiled its plans to create a fleet of self-flying taxis to help commuters avoid the ever-growing issue of traffic during rush-hour. And it seems that commuters might not have to wait long to hail a flying car.

Airbus's vision for driverless flying taxis is one step closer to becoming a reality. MTSI and SOAR Oregon have been jointly awarded a'Flight Test and Range' to test the single seater self-piloted flying vehicle that can carry both cargo and human passengers. Airbus's innovation division, A³, unveiled plans for'Project Vahana' earlier this year, and says it hopes to have a full-sized prototype in the air by the end of 2017 and a model for sale on the market by 2020. Airbus's innovation division, A³, previously unveiled plans for'Project Vahana', which aims to have a full-sized prototype in the air by the end of 2017 and a model for sale on the market by 2020. Project Vahana began earlier this year and is one of the first projects at A³, the advanced projects and partnerships outpost of Airbus Group in Silicon Valley. The first conceptual renders have been revealed showing a sleek self-flying aircraft with room for one passenger who sits under a canopy that retracts similar to a motorcycle helmet visor.

Sitting in bumper to bumper traffic during rush hour could soon be a thing of the past. Airbus is working on a fleet of air taxis with the hopes of relieving urban congestion and the firm has unveiled its first conceptual renderings. Called Vahana, this sleek self-flying aircraft seats one passenger under a canopy that retracts similar to a motorcycle helmet visor and the vehicle is designed to operate like a helicopter. Airbus has been working on a fleet of air taxis with the hopes of relieving urban congestion and the firm has unveiled its first conceptual renderings. Project Vahana began earlier this year and is one of the first projects at A³, the advanced projects and partnerships outpost of Airbus Group in Silicon Valley.

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.