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NEW YORK (UPI) - Tiny mobile robots zipping through the wilderness on cables could monitor endangered species discreetly and analyze environmental chemistry linked to global climate. The robot networks, strung on their steel webs, also could screen urban streams for pollutants and germs and probe bridges for cracks. The little machines could even help archaeologists explore ancient sites while minimizing damage to precious artifacts, and any data they collected could be beamed, wirelessly and instantaneously, to public Web sites for researchers and students to analyze. "We would like, in particular, to enable students in grades 6 to 8 to participate,"...

30-year robot project pitchedResearchers see tech windfalls in costly humanoid quest Japanese researchers in robot technology are advocating a grand project, under which the government would spend 50 billion yen a year over three decades to develop a humanoid robot with the mental, physical and emotional capacity of a 5-year-old human. The researchers believe the Atom Project, inspired by the popular robot animation series "Tetsuwan Atom" by the late cartoonist Osamu Tezuka, would help promote scientific and technological advances in Japan, just like the U.S. Apollo Project, which not only succeeded in landing men on the moon but contributed to...

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - A new type of "smart" machine that could fundamentally change how people interact with computers is on the not-too-distant horizon at the Department of Energy's Sandia National Laboratories. Over the past five years a team led by Sandia cognitive psychologist Chris Forsythe has been developing cognitive machines that accurately infer user intent, remember experiences with users and allow users to call upon simulated experts to help them analyze situations and make decisions. "In the long term, the benefits from this effort are expected to include augmenting human effectiveness and embedding these cognitive models into systems like robots...

A St. Petersburg company last week unveiled ARNE and ARNEA, the only Russian humanoid robots in existence. The robots are male and female. Each is 123 centimeters tall and weighs 61 kilograms. They are capable of walking independently and avoiding obstacles, can distinguish and remember objects and colors, can follow up to 40 separate commands, and can even talk. The androids run on electrical power, using wireless accumulators, allowing them to work independently for up to one hour. Unlike their human counterparts, there are no obvious physical differences between the male and female androids -- apart from their color --...

<p>As the tanker slips out of Boston Harbor, terrorists hidden on board emerge. The ship's cargo has been delivered, but they have something else to leave behind — dozens of shallow-water mines they will scatter in their wake.</p> <p>Their goal: to cripple commerce at one of the largest ports on the Eastern seaboard and paralyze a harbor that is a lifeline to millions of people.</p>

      Robotic Assistants Could Have Helped ColumbiaBy Leonard Davidposted: 04:00 pm ET09 February 2003  If Columbia’s tiles or wing section were damaged on liftoff, that fear could have been allayed by in-flight robotic inspection. For years, NASA has been testing robotic devices for any number of tasks, including inspection and repair duties.Columbia was without a Canadian-built robot arm. In the past, that arm has been used to bend its way to various parts of the vehicle for a TV look. However, even if the robot arm had been installed on the ill-fated space plane, its reach to view...

There's an old joke about the man who asks his neighbor to turn down the loud, raucous noise emitting from her stereo."What's the matter, are you a music hater?" "No," he replies, "I'm a music lover." I'm reminded of this by the calls of some over the years to end the space-shuttle program, even (perhaps especially) by people who are frustrated by our lack of progress in space. In the wake of the latest tragedy, the calls will undoubtedly grow louder, but in many cases, even if correct, they will be for the wrong reasons, and may not lead to...

Planetary Society Anticipates Next Century of Flight 2003 will end a century of flight it began in 1903 at Kitty Hawk and will extend to Mars, when a band of seven spacecraft continue humanity's exploration of the Red Planet. Next year will also see the advent of solar sailing, a technology that could take us to the stars, when The Planetary Society launches its Cosmos 1 mission. "It's incredible to think that only 100 years ago, Orville and Wilbur Wright demonstrated in 12 seconds that powered flight was more than a possibility. And now we are taking the first...

A cure for ticket-splitting headaches RALEIGH -- Most voters will make a fundamental mistake when they go to the polls Tuesday. We take fierce pride in weighing the merits of each individual candidate, but voting for the party would produce better decisions and stronger government. The most obvious reason for party voting is that it makes your decision much simpler. Americans face more frequent elections and far longer ballots than voters in other democracies. We are regularly expected to choose between candidates we don't really know for offices we don't really understand. How many voters can make an intelligent choice...

<p>Dispatched on a rescue-and-capture mission, unmanned vehicles arrive at the scene in minutes, corner a potential suspect and await visual confirmation before proceeding. Star Wars 2020? It might be happening sooner than you think.</p> <p>Allen Moshfegh at the Office of Naval Research is the head of the Autonomous Intelligent Network and Systems (AINS), a program that aims to create an operational drone army by the year 2020.</p>

Robot Grass Cutter Cuts Through Tedium of Mowing Fri Aug 16, 2:18 AM ET WELLINGTON (Reuters) - Tired of mowing the lawn? New Zealand researchers say they have a device that could make your neighbors green with envy. It's a lawnmower operated via the Internet. The robotic grass cutter is controlled through a web page which monitors the mower by a small camera on the side of a house. "What our technology allows us to do is to control lawnmowers and other robotic devices while people are away at work," Massey University's Glen Bright told Reuters. The electric mower, smaller...

Filed at 7:12 p.m. ET PITTSBURGH (AP) -- A 6-foot-tall robot that courteously steps aside for people, smiles during conversation and politely asks directions shouldn't be blamed for being too eager to please. After all, it's programmed to act that way. The robot, named GRACE (short for Graduate Robot Attending Conference), will wander a symposium on artificial intelligence that begins this weekend, where it will demonstrate basic human social skills. It will try to sign in at the registration desk, find a conference room, give a speech and answer questions. GRACE, a drum-shaped contraption with a digitally animated face that...

It seems like every time we go out, I’m pleased to see that my lawn is not the worst looking one in the neighborhood because I can always count on this one house on the corner. Yeah, my grass is kept a little high but it gets mowed whereas these guys on the corner have a front yard full of various weeds with no grass I can discern. Hey, this isn’t personal and I have nothing against them. I also view my neighbors in Texas as incredibly environmentally conscious; doing their part to aid in oxygen production now that the...

EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. (AP) - The Boeing Co.'s X-45, the first robotic plane designed specifically to fly combat missions, has successfully made its maiden flight. The plane, one of two built so far, successfully took off, flew and landed on Wednesday, Boeing said, and was airborne for 14 minutes. A Thursday press conference was planned to discuss the flight. The plane was developed by the company's Phantom Works under a contract with the Air Force and the Pentagon's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. Squat and tailless with a 36-foot wingspan, the X-45 is mostly flat. An engine intake...

Transmitting wireless signals directly into the brain, a group of scientists has produced the ultimate lab rat--an animal that can be guided by remote control over fences, up trees, through pipe and across rubble at distances up to a third of a mile. Click here to read the rest of article:Click here

Computers and CCTV cameras could be used to predict and prevent crime before it happens. Scientists at Kingston University in London have developed software able to anticipate if someone is about to mug an old lady or plant a bomb at an airport. It works by examining images coming in from close circuit television cameras (CCTV) and comparing them to behaviour patterns that have already programmed into its memory. The software, called Cromatica, can then mathematically work out what is likely to happen next. And if it is likely to be a crime it can send a warning signal to...

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Robots may never be able to "feel," but machines that sense and respond to human emotion could one day help care for the elderly and others with serious medical conditions, research suggests. In lab experiments, a UK researcher found that with the help of a wireless modem link, his study participant was able to control simple behaviors of a small mobile robot with nothing more than "emotional responsivity." In other words, certain physiological changes linked to emotion--such as heart rate, breathing and blood pressure--were monitored through a biofeedback unit that then sent the information to...

<p>TOKYO, Japan (AP) -- The newest Sony Corp. family member has a photographic memory, an extensive vocabulary and a jukebox-like knowledge of music.</p> <p>He also comes with a clunky, sci-fi name and a price tag resembling that of a luxury car.</p>

LINK TO SITE Afghan Explorer is intended as a vehicle for personal knowledge acquisition, in the belief that international peace can only come from mutual understanding.As the most powerful, and arguably the most technologically advanced nation in the world, it seems as if Americans should be able to get information at any time, from any place.Economies of ScaleIn fact, Americans are often information poor. Their reliance on low content mass media, like USA TODAY and television news, means that they see relatively little news and commentary, usually written for a 7th grade literacy level.In contrast to European nations, our geographic...