In 1997, IBM's "Deep Blue" computer defeated grandmaster Gary Kasparov in a match of chess. It was an historic moment, marking the end of an era where humans could defeat machines in complex strategy games. Today, artificial intelligence (AI) bots can defeat humans in not only chess, but nearly every digital game that exists. However, while we're starting to see some progress with AI-proof-of concepts in motorsports, ping pong and even basketball, AI has yet to come close to beating humans in real-life physical sports. Doing so will require a major technical leap from today's state-of-the-art AI technology, advancing it to a place where AI can interact with, and make sense of, the physical world and unknown conditions, including physical contact from fellow racers or players – all while navigating a game strategy, race course, set of rules and other complex challenges.

Self-flying drones could be used to rescue people from fires in tower blocks by unfolding into safety nets mid-air. Net Guard drones would use GPS to pinpoint the location of the fire once a distress signal has been received then head to the necessary building, avoiding traffic below. Once close enough to the building, the drone would then unfold into four propeller-powered parts, a safety net pulled tight in the centre. This net would be made from a quadruple layer of polyurethane, the designers said, and would be strong enough to then carry the weight of a regular adult. The drone would also keep track of the evacuee using sensors, allowing it to be positioned correctly were person in need of jumping. It was designed by six students from the Guangdong Polytechnic Normal University, Schools of Electronic Engineering and Art, China, and was recently awarded the Golden Pin Concept Design Award.

Imagine thousands of "talking" drones, able to act as one to perform high-level rescue missions in the face of imminent danger. Sounds like a scene straight out of a Hollywood movie, but in a University of Pennsylvania lab, engineers have produced just that. "Swarm" drones, which can navigate on their own and coordinate with one another using sophisticated metric technology, could become the next fleet of emergency responders. These devices can function as a rescue unit to investigate an active crime scene or natural disaster – capturing images and other data that could help law enforcement plan next steps from a safe distance, said Penn researcher and team member Giuseppe Loianno. "Imagine in the case of a fire, the drones can be sent," said Loianno.

Chinese company Ehang offered a glimpse this week of what could lie ahead, releasing its first video of passengers climbing aboard its autonomous drones and taking off with the push of a button. It's one of a bunch of companies racing to bring their different versions of computer-controlled airborne taxis to market. The contenders include big plane makers like Boeing (BA) and lesser-known startups. Ehang says it first managed to carry passengers in its drones back in 2015 and has since racked up at least 40 successful journeys. It hadn't shared footage of the flights publicly until this week.

EagleEye says its tech gives drones military-grade security and the possibility of flying autonomous missions. In 2014, three software engineers decided to create a drone company in Wavre, Belgium, just outside Brussels. All were licensed pilots and trained in NATO security techniques. But rather than build drones themselves, they decided they would upgrade existing radio-controlled civilian drones with an ultra-secure software layer to allow the devices to fly autonomously. Their company, EagleEye Systems, would manufacture the onboard computer and design the software, while existing manufacturers would provide the drone body and sensors.

"They tirelessly patrol outside your property around the clock, and actively deter crime by establishing physical presence at the site," the San Francisco startup Aptonomy said on its website. "[Smart] drones live on your property, and get to know it well. In a live monitoring scenario, you can adjust the drone's viewpoint and move it around safety in real-time – even from hundreds of miles away." Special features of the security drone are a flight controller, day and night vision cameras, strobe lighting and loudspeakers built on top of the DJI S-1000, a camera-carrying octocopter, the type most often used by movie-makers. The security drone's artificial intelligence hardware and navigational systems allow it to fly low and fast, avoiding obstacles in structure-dense environments to detect human activity or faces.