A Robot in Every Home
The leader of the PC revolution predicts that the next hot field will be robotics
Features
Rise of the Robots
By 2050 robot "brains" based on computers that execute 100 trillion instructions per second will start rivaling human intelligence
The Coming Merging of Mind and Machine
The accelerating pace of technological progress means that our intelligent creations will soon eclipse us--and that their creations will eventually eclipse them.
Robots vs. Humans: Who Should Explore Space?
Unmanned spacecraft are exploring the solar system more cheaply and effectively than astronauts are. Astronaut explorers can perform science in space that robots cannot.
An Army of Small Robots
For robot designers these days, small is beautiful
Swarm Smarts
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...
Go Forth and Replicate
Birds do it, bees do it, but could machines do it? Computer simulations suggest that the answer is yes
Ballbots
A new mode of locomotion will enable mobile robots to stand tall and move gracefully through busy everyday environments.
Artificial Muscles
Novel motion-producing devices--actuators, motors, generators--based on polymers that change shape when stimulated electrically are reaching commercialization.
Controlling Robots with the Mind
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.
Innovations from a Robot Rally
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
Departments
- From the Editor
Aye, Robot
