Google Bets $10.7 Million On Drone Intelligence

The company's venture capital arm has just made a big investment in unmanned systems.

By Kelsey D. Atherton

An MD-200 Quadrotor Two years ago Google purchased one of these quadrotors from German manufacturer Microdrones wikimedia commons

Echoing a company belief in autonomous systems, clever algorithms, and replacing fallible humans with smart machines, Google's venture capital arm announced yesterday that it is investing $10.7 million in a company that makes drone brains.

The company, Airware, builds autopilots for unmanned aerial systems. Because space and weight are at a premium on drones, especially small ones, Airware's systems can get pretty tiny—one model weighs 32 grams, or about the same as a pocketful of coins.

Airware made news in January (under their previous name of Unmanned Innovations, Inc.) when a Kenyan wildlife conservation group purchased one of its drones to fly over a nature preserve and watch for poachers.

Google itself has a history with robot vehicles. In August 2010, a German firm reported that Google was testing one of its drones, most likely for Google Street View and Google Earth projects. And Google also spent years developing a driverless car, some of which are now licensed drivers in Nevada.

All of this means that Google is well poised for 2015, when the FAA is set to allow drones to fly alongside planes in U.S. commercial airspace.

The next thing to watch out for? Google investing in tacos, burritos, or beer delivery.

This Is What Winning Looks Like - My Afghanistan War Diary

2,300-Year-Old Mayan Pyramid In Belize Bulldozed For Roadway Project

The Sydney Morning Herald reports that a private company has demolished key Mayan ruins in order to use the debris to fill potholes:

A construction company has essentially destroyed one of Belize’s largest Mayan pyramids with backhoes and bulldozers to extract crushed rock for a road-building project. Nohmul sat in the middle of a privately owned sugar cane field.

The head of the Belize Institute of Archaeology, Jaime Awe, said the destruction at the Nohmul complex was detected late last week. The ceremonial center dates back at least 2300 years and is the most important site in northern Belize, near the border with Mexico.

“It’s a feeling of incredible disbelief because of the ignorance and the insensitivity…they were using this for road fill,” Mr Awe said. “It’s just so horrendous…To think that today you can go and excavate in a quarry anywhere, but that this company would completely disregard that and completely destroy it.”

Source: Disinformation