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BNSF Railway Co. is flying drones as far as 150 miles along the New Mexico desert to inspect tracks, helping the Federal Aviation Administration develop rules for operating unmanned aircraft beyond the pilot’s line of sight.

The Obama administration is opening U.S. skies to more commercial drones with long-awaited regulations that the government hopes will spawn new industries for inspecting bridges, monitoring crops and taking aerial photography.

German firm Deutsche Post DHL completed a three-month test of delivery drone Parcelcopter on May 9 and became the first postal service to successfully deliver packages to customers by drone, according to the company.

Drones soon will be boosting crop yields, verifying insurance claims and assisting in Hollywood blockbusters in a business that’s due to boom by more than 6,000% by the end of the decade.

UPS Inc. is backing a start-up using drones in Rwanda to transport life-saving blood supplies and vaccines, underlining the wide potential for the unmanned aircraft and helping bring package delivery by drone to U.S. consumers a step closer.

Forget flying drones. When it comes to predictions on what sci-fi method might bring you hot pizza, aspirin, groceries or new shoes, some experts bet that delivery robots rolling down sidewalks will beat out airborne couriers.

Product delivery-by-drone in urban areas may be possible within a few years if the U.S. government and the aviation industry agree to work cooperatively on the new technology, the chief of Google Inc.’s drone cargo project said Jan. 11.

Amazon has unveiled what its unmanned drones for package delivery would look like with a video launched on Nov. 29 on the prototype of technology it announced two years ago.

A drone that can inspect roads and repair potholes autonomously is one of the goals of a recent university grant awarded with the vision of creating self-repairing cities.