Artificial intelligence (AI) in sport may sound like something from a science fiction movie. But unbelievable footage has captured the moment an AI pilot overthrows three human champions in a fierce drone race. Drone racing world champion, Alex Vanover, was among the trio of professionals thrashed by AI as it won an impressive 15 of 25 trials in a Swiss-based study. The so-called'Swift' technology mastered speeds of over 62mph (100kmh), with a reaction time that was 120 milliseconds faster than humans on average. Its impressive track record is a milestone for scientists at the University of Zurich, who sought to move this pioneering technology beyond board games.

As the two Koreas near the anniversary of the start of their conflict in 1950, both sides are pouring money into drone programs to bolster their militaries along a border dubbed "the Cold War's last frontier." South Korea's cabinet this week approved plans for a new drone command to be set up by the military around September to provide what the government called an "overwhelming response" to any provocations by North Korea's unmanned aerial vehicles, or UAVs. North Korea appears to have started testing a new large drone at its Panghyon airbase, NK News reported last week based on satellite images. The aircraft was the largest it has seen to date, with an estimated wingspan of about 115 feet (35 meters), bigger than the 65-foot drone spotted at the airbase earlier this month, it said. This could be due to a conflict with your ad-blocking or security software.

Unlike self-driving cars, autonomous drones can generally get from "A" to "B" safely, but could they beat a human pilot in a drone race? So far the answer has been "no way," but now, researchers from the University of Zurich (UZH) have created an algorithm that allowed an AI-powered drone to beat two human pilots on an experimental race track. The work could lead to more efficient drones for rescues, deliveries and other chores. In the past, researchers have built simplified models of quadrotor systems or flight paths to calculate the optimum trajectory. This time, however, they fully accounted for the drone's limitations.

Since the dawn of the drone era, enterprising pilots and enthusiasts have found ways to make money off their passion for flying. Thanks to a new partnership between the Drone Racing League and DraftKings, though, gamblers can now make money off of other people's passion for flying. While DraftKings can legally operate its daily fantasy sports business in 43 states, the company stresses that betting on drone races is currently only legal in Colorado, New Hampshire, West Virginia, Tennessee and New Jersey. "The sky is now the limit for DRL fans to get skin in the game, and we're thrilled to partner with DraftKings to transform our high-speed race competition into the ultimate sport to bet on," said DRL President Rachel Jacobson in a press release. Today's announcement makes drone racing the first aerial sport people can legally bet on, and Jacobson noted to Forbes that embracing betting is part of the company's plan to scale into an "ultimately mainstream sport."

On Friday night in an old newspaper printing plant in Austin, the future of drone automation lifted off, accelerated and flew, nearly fast enough to beat one of the best drone pilots in the world. Gabriel Kocher, known in the professional Drone Racing League as Gab707, sat behind a net, wearing video goggles and steering his drone through five square gates on a short, curvy course. Next to him were four teammates from the MavLAB of the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands. They had already programmed their automated drone, which resembled a mini Stealth Bomber. Now they were watching to see if their code had made the drone fast and accurate enough to defeat Kocher.

An international drone race will be held in November as one of events of the Tokyo Motor Show, which will start in late October, the organizing committee said Monday. The event will be the first drone race in Japan officially approved by the World Air Sports Federation, the international body for sky sports, according to the committee. The drone racing will be held on Nov. 1-2 at a venue of the Tokyo Motor Show, among 60 professional and licensed racers. A meeting to discuss the air traffic control systems necessary for drones will also be held, in a bid to promote the use of drones in society.

China is rolling out stealth drones and pilot-less aircraft fitted with deadly weapons, such as AK-47 rifles, onto world markets. Combat drones were among the jet fighters, missiles and other military hardware shown off this week at Airshow China, the country's biggest aerospace industry exhibition. China's automated warplanes are already flying in the Middle East, and the newly unveiled unmanned jets signal Beijing's determination in catching up and eventually rivaling with the United States in the global military drone market. Visitors to the Airshow China take pictures of CH-7, China's newest stealth combat drone Saudi Arabia and Pakistan are in discussions to acquire the Chinese-made Blowfish A2 (pictured). A director from Ziyan, the manufacturer of the helicopter drone, said they could add'whatever' weapons required by clients to the unmanned aircraft One of the most eye-catching drones displayed at the exhibition in Zhuhai was CH-7, or Rainbow-7, China's newest stealth combat drone.

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).

As drones and their components get smaller, more efficient, and more capable, we've seen an increasing amount of research towards getting these things flying by themselves in semi-structured environments without relying on external localization. The University of Pennsylvania has done some amazing work in this area, as has DARPA's Fast Lightweight Autonomy program. At NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, they've been working on small drone autonomy for the past few years as part of a Google-funded project. The focus is on high-speed dynamic maneuvering, in the context of flying a drone as fast as possible around an indoor race course using only on-board hardware. For the project's final demo, JPL raced their autonomous drones through an obstacle course against a professional human racing drone pilot.

With backing from big broadcasters like ESPN and Sky Sports, drone racing is already making its mark on TV. The Drone Racing League's (DRL) inaugural five race season is now two races deep, having visited Miami and Los Angeles, but the company is already thinking ahead to next year's championship. After revealing that the UK would host its first professional drone race in 2017 back in September, the DRL today confirmed that the winner-takes-all season finale will be hosted at London's iconic Alexandra Palace on June 13th. Professional drone racing, if you're not aware, sees pilots compete in four "level" events that they hope will earn them enough points to qualify for the World Championship. Each racer is given a selection of custom-designed drones, which are crafted by DRL to ensure races focus on skill and not construction smarts, which beam back a first-person live feed to a VR-style headset.