[dronehire]

> Again, UAVs are not computer-flown. They're remotely piloted. They are not completely autonomous (yet.)

This is incorrect. Most popular consumer-level autopilot systems used by companies like DJI and 3D Robotics have complete autonomous functionality (except sense and avoid capability) which allows the user to input a flight path and then watch the drone take off, fly through the checkpoints and then land, completely autonomously.

[Evolved]

I don't think we agree on what "autonomous" means. Preprogramming a flight path to follow doesn't meet the definition of autonomous nor does autopilot following waypoints.

Autonomous, at least to me, means the drone takes off, searches out a sight ("drone, fine me a bridge and take pictures of it") and then makes the decision to fly to it and perform some kind of action whether it be photographic/videographic/some kind of monitoring (commercial drones) or a kinetic action (military drones).

Basically, when drones get AI then I'd personally consider them to be autonomous. YMMV

[TeMPOraL]

As opposed to military killer-drones. Which goes back to upthread concerns. Military drones are remote-operated, not autonomous.