Makers of new air transport technology such as drones and air taxis are joining with established aviation companies including airlines and helicopter operators to help secure backing from regulators. They face similar challenges, notably how they can be operated safely over urban areas. Proponents maintain they are cheaper and more environmentally friendly than cars and taxis, even if routine consumer deliveries and rides remain years away. "We don't know what's going to work and what's not," said Mesa Chief Executive Jonathan Ornstein. Phoenix-based Mesa plans to start with four drones made by Flirtey Inc. of Reno, Nev., with options on another 500 over the next four years to expand the service in the U.S. and to New Zealand.

SAN FRANCISCO – Danhua Capital has invested in some of Silicon Valley's most promising startups in areas like drones, artificial intelligence and cybersecurity. The venture capital firm is based just outside Stanford University, the epicenter of U.S. technology entrepreneurship. Yet it was also established and funded with help from the Chinese government. And it is not alone. More than 20 Silicon Valley venture capital firms have close ties to a Chinese government fund or state-owned entity, according to interviews with venture capital sources and publicly available information.

The selection of the Reno-based drone operator Flirtey and its local partners for a national test program aimed at increasing the use of unmanned aircraft will be a "game-changer" for the delivery of emergency medical supplies in the region, backers of the effort say. The 10 sites the U.S. Department of Transportation announced Wednesday include projects ranging from monitoring crops and oil pipelines in North Dakota to applying mosquito-killing treatments in Florida. In northern Nevada, the focus will be on drugs and medical equipment. Flirtey drones already have delivered automated external defibrillators used to jumpstart the hearts of cardiac arrest victims as part of a joint emergency program with first-responders in Reno. The company also anticipates future deliveries of EpiPens to treat severe allergic reactions and Narcan for opioid overdoses.

The space above your head--currently filled with sky, maybe some clouds, and the passing bird or plastic bag--is valuable. Many a company would rather see it filled with drones, saving lives with emergency drugs, delivering items you ordered online, monitoring crops, and handling a bajillion other tasks. But if given free rein, some worry, these quadcopter capitalists might darken the sky with their machines, deafen us with their buzzing, and shower debris on those below when they inevitably collide. To avoid an aerial apocalypse, the FAA has so far taken a restrictive approach to drones. It limits commercial operation by requiring permits and imposing restrictions like banning beyond-line-of-sight flights and nighttime operations.

The importance of every second while a person is having a cardiac arrest can't be stressed enough, and the availability of the requisite medical equipment in the fastest possible time could end up saving many lives. With this objective in mind, Flirtey, a Nevada-based drone-delivery company, has launched specialized drones for defibrillator delivery as part of every response to a cardiac arrest emergency. "We have the ability to deliver lifesaving aid into the hands of people who need it -- why aren't we as a society doing it already? This is one of the most important uses of drone delivery technology, and we believe that by democratizing access to this lifesaving aid, our technology will save more than a million lives over the decades to come," Flirtey CEO Matthew Sweeny told the Reno Gazette-Journal last week. Flirtey will work in collaboration with the Regional Emergency Medical services Authority (REMSA) to provide drone-delivered medical help until trained medical technicians arrive. It will send across an automated external defibrillator via a drone ahead of an ambulance despatch for emergency cases that involve a cardiac arrest.

An automated delivery service could mean the difference between life and death for people who have suffered a cardiac arrest. Flirtey is launching a fleet of drones in Nevada that will carry defibrillators to the scene of to ensure patients receive treatment as promptly as possible in a world first. Previous research has found that for every minute a cardiac arrest victim waits to receive defibrillation, their odds of survival decrease by about 10 per cent. An automated delivery service could mean the difference between life and death for people who have suffered cardiac arrest. Cardiac arrests, which are often confused by the public with heart attacks, are a leading cause of death worldwide, killing more than six million people each year.

Domino's has delivered new additions to its Domino's Robotics Unit (DRU) family, announcing the DRU Platform, an artificial intelligence (AI)-based technology that will allow customers to order a pizza using their voice. As of Monday, customers will be able to use DRU Assist, an in-app AI virtual assistant that was built in partnership with natural language company Nuance. DRU Assist takes the pizza giant somewhat back to the start of its digital journey, with customers speaking to order a pizza via their phone. Powered by Nuance's Nina, Domino's DRU Assist engages with customers in human-like conversation via text or speech recognition. "DRU Assist is not just a toy, this is real platform change," Domino's Group CEO and Managing Director Don Meij said.

US drone delivery service Flirtey on Monday announced that its self-piloting flying machines have whisked flu medicine, hot food and more from 7-Eleven convenience stores to customers' homes. The Nevada-based company boasted of being the first drone service to complete regular commercial deliveries to residences in this country, having completed 77 such autonomous missions. "We have now successfully completed the first month of routine commercial drone deliveries to customer homes in partnership with 7-Eleven," Flirtey chief executive Matthew Sweeny said in a release. "This is a giant leap towards a future where everyone can experience the convenience of Flirtey's instant store-to-door drone delivery." Flirtey said it made 77 drone deliveries to homes of select customers on weekends in November, filling orders placed using a special application.

Sure, Amazon made its first drone delivery last week, but 7-Eleven already has it beat. Today, the convenience store company announced that it has already made a total of 77 deliveries by drone in the state of Nevada. Of course the caveat here is that 7-Eleven relied on Flirtey, a drone delivery service company that's already made a name for itself by delivering Domino's in New Zealand and textbooks in Australia. It also made the first FAA-approved urban drone delivery earlier this year. Though the deliveries kicked off in July, it was in November when the company started making regular weekend deliveries from a 7-Eleven store to about a dozen customers.

Federal regulators are still working on rules to govern commercial drone flights in the US, but that isn't stopping businesses from pushing forward with their own plans. The convenience store chain has partnered with the drone delivery service Flirtey, and over the summer they completed their first government-approved, fully autonomous drone delivery from a store to a customer's home. In November, the two companies completed 77 deliveries of items like over-the-counter medicines, as well as hot and cold food items. Customers placed their orders via an app that let them track the progress of the delivery, from the moment the drone was loaded, to its departure and arrival. Rather than landing, the drone hovered over its destination and dropped its delivery in the customer's yard.