SA Special Editions

The leader of the PC revolution predicts that the next hot field will be robotics

By 2050 robot "brains" based on computers that execute 100 trillion instructions per second will start rivaling human intelligence

The accelerating pace of technological progress means that our intelligent creations will soon eclipse us--and that their creations will eventually eclipse them.

Unmanned spacecraft are exploring the solar system more cheaply and effectively than astronauts are. Astronaut explorers can perform science in space that robots cannot.

For robot designers these days, small is beautiful

Using ants and other social insects as models, computer scientists have created software agents that cooperate to solve complex problems, such as the rerouting of traffic in a busy telecom network

Birds do it, bees do it, but could machines do it? Computer simulations suggest that the answer is yes

A new mode of locomotion will enable mobile robots to stand tall and move gracefully through busy everyday environments.

Novel motion-producing devices--actuators, motors, generators--based on polymers that change shape when stimulated electrically are reaching commercialization.

People with nerve or limb injuries may one day be able to command wheelchairs, prosthetics, and even paralyzed arms and legs by thinking them through the motions.

The Grand Challenge competition spurred advances in laser sensing, computer vision and autonomous navigation--not to mention a thrilling race for the 2-million prize