totally solar powered quadcopter

https://newatlas.com/solar-powered-quadcopter/55993/

"Developed by a student team from the National University of Singapore (NUS), the drone is built mainly from carbon fiber, tipping the scales at just 2.6 kg (5.7 lb). It has no onboard battery or other energy-storage system, but is instead equipped with an array of 148 silicon solar cells, giving it a total surface area of approximately 4 square meters (43 sq ft).

So far, it has been flown by remote control up to an altitude of over 10 meters (33 ft). As it's equipped with a GPS system, it can reportedly also fly autonomously.  "


This is cool mainly because a copter could potentially fly all day long without having to come down for more energy.

drones used to fight wildfires

http://wildfiretoday.com/2018/08/15/drone-flying-at-night-detects-spot-fire/

"
That video was filmed during daylight hours. Eight years later we now have the ability to have an unmanned aerial vehicle with sophisticated sensors orbit continuously over a fire, day and night, for 18 to 20 hours depending on the weight of its payload. If an incident management team on a fire activates a couple of these using the recently awarded Call When Needed contract, firefighters can have greatly enhanced situational awareness with near real time video.
Insitu was one of four companies that won CWN contracts in May. On the Taylor Fire in southwest Oregon on August 5, firefighters requested that the company’s ScanEagle aircraft monitor an overnight burn operation they were conducting along a ridge top road. As it orbited in the darkness at 8,500 feet, the sensors and the pilot detected a spot fire about 100 feet outside the fireline in the 'green' unburned area.
The pilot talked directly with firefighters in an engine, telling them where it was."

Another great use for a drone.  Much cheaper than a helicopter, and safer for all.

Feds worry about drone dangers

https://abcnews.go.com/US/federal-officials-reiterate-drone-threat-intel-bulletin/story?id=57249358

"Citing the Aug. 4 attack during an appearance of Venezuela’s president, the FBI, Department of Homeland Security and National Counterterrorism Center issued an intelligence bulletin with the starkest of warnings: 'An attack could be conducted by one person or several people using a commercially available, off-the-shelf (drone) to target venues which attract large crowds, such as sporting facilities, concerts, and transportation terminals, or public figures.'”

Like anything useful, bad people will also find a use for any new tool.  I hope there are good ways to stop bad uses of drones.

tinder-dry Aspen Colorado calls for drones to replace fireworks

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-44708663

"The US town of Aspen is swapping its annual Fourth of July fireworks display for a drone show - because of a wildfire risk in the drought-hit area.

Officials say 50 drones will light up the night sky in patriotic colours to mark Independence Day.
The 15-minute show will start at 21:15 local time (03:15 GMT Thursday).
This comes after Colorado's fire authorities introduced strict fire restrictions across huge swathes of the western state."

I approve of this use of drones.  See for example...

IDF uses drone to drop tear gas

https://www.cnn.com/videos/world/2018/05/14/jerusalem-protest-teargas-lee.cnn

Previously the Palestinians shot a drone from the sky with slinghots.

Here's bellingcat's view
https://www.bellingcat.com/news/mena/2018/06/18/first-isis-iraq-now-israel-idf-use-commercial-drones/

Palestinians down an IDF drone with slingshot

https://www.rt.com/news/426012-gaza-protesters-israeli-drone/

"A Palestinian protester near the Gaza border managed to bring down what appears to be an Israeli drone with a rock and a slingshot, a video posted online revealed.
The footage by Press TV shows Palestinians hurling stones at an object which looks like a drone, with a slingshot. A heavy cloud of gray smoke can be seen, while sirens are heard in the background."

pretty good shooting there.  I wonder how high it was.

criminals using drone swarms

https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/criminals-used-drone-swarm-disrupt-112600956.html

The FBI's Joe Mazel told a crowd at the AUVSI Xponential conference this week about a particularly organized gang that used drones to interfere with a hostage situation last winter. As Defense One reports, a swarm of small drones descended on an FBI hostage team, performing "high-speed low passes" in an effort "to flush them" from their position. "We were then blind," Mazel added.
The drones weren't just used to disorientate the FBI, though. According to Mazel, they were the crew's eyes in the sky, pushing video to YouTube so the wider group could keep tabs on the FBI's movements. This was an organized operation, too. Apparently, the drones were brought into the area specifically to disrupt the FBI's rescue efforts. Other specifics of the incident remain "law-enforcement sensitive," Mazel said, but this is just one of many more elaborate ways drones are now being used by criminals.
Surveillance is a big part of it. Criminals have taken to watching police stations to identify witnesses and other friends of the law, as well as casing out facilities to find security holes they may be able to exploit in a robbery.

* * * * *

Like any useful tool, drones can be used for good or bad.  It takes rational laws to help avoid the bad.