ACM TechNews

The Year in Robots

Scientific American (12/28/07) Greenemeier, Larry

The past year included several significant and exciting developments in robotic technology. As part of NASA's efforts to send peopled missions back to the moon, and eventually to Mars, the space agency performed several tests to see if robotic technology could be used to provide medical care for astronauts during extended space flights, including using robotic surgeons software to compensate for errors in movement caused by turbulence and varying gravitational conditions. The Department of Defense continued to develop autonomous robotic technology that could eventually be used to replace human soldiers in dangerous situations. In November, DARPA hosted the 2007 Urban Challenge in which driverless cars had to navigate an urban environment and other challenges. Also in November, University of California, San Diego researchers reported in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA that "current robot technology is surprisingly close to achieving autonomous bonding and socialization with human toddlers for significant periods of time." The report was based on QRIO, a two-foot humanoid programmed to wave, dance, sit and stand, and tested in UCSD's Early Childhood Center. While the achievements of 2007 are impressive, 2008 promises to be even more exciting. University of Colorado at Boulder researchers will benchmark robotic devices capable of precisely measuring and mixing medications used for treatments such as chemotherapy, the robotic Mars rovers Opportunity and Spirit will resume the exploration of Mars, and Scandinavian research firm Sintef will display AI-based equipment designed to help offshore oil and gas drilling platforms operate efficiently and safely.

http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=2007-year-in-robots

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