All watched over by (beautiful) machines of a loving grace

A great TED talk that explores the latest in developments of drone technology.  The kicker comes when the machines stop being functional and start being beautiful. These types of images are essential if drones are to become ubiquitous technology.  

Drones might be noisy, they potentially invade privacy, they may be a nuisance, or even used to perpetrate evil deeds; but if they are proven to be useful and even beautiful - we will forgive them (not too dissimilar to the step change that mobile phones took with the introduction of the iPhone in the relatively recent past).

When you hear the word "drone," you probably think of something either very useful or very scary. But could they have aesthetic value? Autonomous systems expert Raffaello D'Andrea develops flying machines, and his latest projects are pushing the boundaries of autonomous flight - from a flying wing that can hover and recover from disturbance to an eight-propeller craft that's ambivalent to orientation ...

Big Hairy Prediction: Popular acceptance of the arrival of the age of the drones wont be smooth. We are already seeing regulation struggling to adapt to the challenges of new technology.  Its almost inevitable that a noise-related syndrome or two will follow, as well as public outrage over a range of nefarious uses.  The tide will turn when a clever technologist combines the functionality of the technology with great design that captures the public's imagination.