Posted On: 01/21/2014 8:32:40 AM
Post# of 29744
Amazon's drones are just the beginning
From the battlefield to the backyard, robotic devices and unmanned aircraft and ground vehicles are already changing our world.
1 of 10 
After Amazon ( AMZN ) CEO Jeff Bezos unveiled a futuristic drone -- designed to fly packages directly to your doorstep in 30 minutes -- the reaction was swift and furious on social media. Just a day after the research project, known as Amazon PrimeAir , was unveiled on CBS' ( CBS ) " 60 Minutes ," Twitter ( TWTR ) was full of drone chatter.
Comments ranged from "creepy" to "Just for the record, I'm 100 percent not on board with Amazon flying my packages in on drones like they're my sponsor in the (expletive) 'Hunger Games,'" said another tweeter. A common reaction: What the heck!?
But for all the passion, suspicion and ethical questions about unmanned aircraft and privacy, researchers have been working with drones in many fields -- beyond retail -- for years. Consumers already have been exposed to the iRobot ( IRBT ) vacuum cleaner. A more serious application has been unmanned aircraft used in modern warfare.
Now with the U.S. national airspace opening to unmanned aircraft by 2015, many small- to mid-sized manufacturers are preparing for more nonmilitary customers. They're creating smaller, affordable models for surveillance and public-safety use.
Click ahead to explore emerging trends in drones, robotic warfare and beyond. "We're just scratching the surface of this," P.W. Singer, author of " Wired for War: The Robotics Revolution and Conflict in the 21st Century ," told CNBC last year.
More from CNBC
- Windows for drones? One start-up is dreaming big
- Goodbye, mouse: These machines are eye-controlled
- Real-life 'Robocop'? Machines rise to the challenge
1 of 10 More from MSN Money
From Around the Web
(0)
(0)
I'm in it to win it!
NASDAQ DIP and RIP
Here is the best word that describes what i do here.
Intuitive;
means having the ability to understand or know something without any direct evidence or reasoning process.
I was born with it, I'm truly blessed!
Alway's searching for winners'
NASDAQ DIP and RIP
Here is the best word that describes what i do here.
Intuitive;
means having the ability to understand or know something without any direct evidence or reasoning process.
I was born with it, I'm truly blessed!
Alway's searching for winners'
