 Last year, Amazon made a surprising announcement. Instead of sending every package through the mail, it was going to look into delivering them through the air. A single drone would take off and bring it directly to your rooftop within an hour of your order. There are a lot of logistical and regulatory problems to work out first, but the announcement opened up an important door. Some day soon, flying deliveries through the sky might be cheaper than driving them over roads. But we're still thinking small. Imagine a future where tiny quadcopter drones are as common as cars and trucks. They'd be everywhere above us. A virtual skyway. Using them to move things from point A to point B is just scratching the surface of what's possible. So what else will we do with them? Well, one idea is to use them as high-tech security. On massive estates, you could have drones docked and ready to fly. When a motion sensor is triggered, the drone takes off and checks things out, streaming back live video. So you could ignore the situation if it's just a stray GoPro. If it's something more sinister, you could alert the local cops or shoot out some pepper spray. If you combine drones with technologies like virtual reality, the possibilities for these eyeballs in the sky get even more interesting. Anyone with an internet connection and a GoPro could take a flight over a raging river or travel inside an active volcano. Quadriplegics have been testing out ways to fly drones using just the movement of their eyes. Forget about IMAX. With live streaming video and head tracking hardware, millions of viewers could each experience their own version of a high-speed drone run through the Grand Canyon. Of course, that new freedom cuts both ways. Those same drones could be used as airborne paparazzi, hovering endlessly over celebrity targets. And so far, there's no law to keep them from peering inside your windows as they fly far overhead in public airspace. We've already seen the first burst of creative use for drones, but it may be followed by heavy restrictions and hard questions. How much airspace do we really want to give up? How much weaponry should your security drone be allowed to carry? And maybe most controversial, will drone use stay open to casual hobbyists? Or will it require a license and registration like flying a helicopter, driving a car, or owning a gun? We're still struggling with these questions, and the answers will make a big difference in how the drones of the future behave.
 Last year, Amazon made a surprising announcement.
 Instead of sending every package through the mail, it was going to look into delivering
 them through the air.
 A single drone would take off and bring it directly to your rooftop within an hour of
 your order.
 There are a lot of logistical and regulatory problems to work out first, but the announcement
 opened up an important door.
 Some day soon, flying deliveries through the sky might be cheaper than driving them over
 roads.
 But we're still thinking small.
 Imagine a future where tiny quadcopter drones are as common as cars and trucks.
 They'd be everywhere above us.
 A virtual skyway.
 Using them to move things from point A to point B is just scratching the surface of
 what's possible.
 So what else will we do with them?
 Well, one idea is to use them as high-tech security.
 On massive estates, you could have drones docked and ready to fly.
 When a motion sensor is triggered, the drone takes off and checks things out, streaming
 back live video.
 So you could ignore the situation if it's just a stray GoPro.
 If it's something more sinister, you could alert the local cops or shoot out some pepper
 spray.
 If you combine drones with technologies like virtual reality, the possibilities for these
 eyeballs in the sky get even more interesting.
 Anyone with an internet connection and a GoPro could take a flight over a raging river or
 travel inside an active volcano.
 Quadriplegics have been testing out ways to fly drones using just the movement of their
 eyes.
 Forget about IMAX.
 With live streaming video and head tracking hardware, millions of viewers could each experience
 their own version of a high-speed drone run through the Grand Canyon.
 Of course, that new freedom cuts both ways.
 Those same drones could be used as airborne paparazzi, hovering endlessly over celebrity
 targets.
 And so far, there's no law to keep them from peering inside your windows as they fly far
 overhead in public airspace.
 We've already seen the first burst of creative use for drones, but it may be followed by
 heavy restrictions and hard questions.
 How much airspace do we really want to give up?
 How much weaponry should your security drone be allowed to carry?
 And maybe most controversial, will drone use stay open to casual hobbyists?
 Or will it require a license and registration like flying a helicopter, driving a car, or
 owning a gun?
 We're still struggling with these questions, and the answers will make a big difference
 in how the drones of the future behave.