All the below is from IEEE Spectrum Feb 17, 2017
FAA Unveils Drone Rules: Autonomy Is In, Drone Delivery Is Out
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration has recently announced the long-awaited Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for small unmanned aircraft systems, governing the operation of drones under 55 pounds (25 kilograms). Many observers had worried that the FAA would attempt to over-regulate, proposing requirements like airworthiness certificates for drones and pilot’s licenses for drone operators and other restrictions that would make it a lot harder for businesses to use drones. But although there are some sticking points that will surely generate more debate, the proposed rules seem surprisingly reasonable.
Spot Is Boston Dynamics’ Nimble New Quadruped Robot
Boston Dynamics is infuriatingly cool. They have to be the only robotics company out there that can just post a YouTube video of an incredibly agile autonomous quadruped named “Spot” with a four sentence description, and that’s that—no info on their site, no press release, no interviews. Because they know that everybody is going to watch it and think it’s awesome anyway. Grr.
Spanish robot maker PAL Robotics, best known for their REEM humanoid robots, has just introduced a new mobile manipulator called Tiago (Take It And Go). Want to pick stuff up and move it around in a research environment? This could be the robot for you.