Man's Best Friend Just Might Be a Machine
From: Contra Costa Times (CA) - 02/18/2007
By: Betsy Mason

A good deal of the technology necessary to make robots a functional,
intelligent part of everyday life has been already been developed and must
now be brought together. Robotics experts recently gathered at the annual
meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in San
Francisco, where they discussed the relatively near future of robotics, which
could include autonomous cars and computers that read and respond to their
user's posture and mood. Innovations that must precede such robotics, such as
voice, face, emotion, and pattern recognition software, the ability to walk
on two legs, automatic recharging, intelligent grasping, and the ability to
exhibit emotional cues, have received a significant amount of attention.
"Most of these technologies already exist now," said California Statue
University roboticist David Calkins. "But they need to be brought together."
Autonomous cars will probably be used by the military as soon as 2015 and
will be on the highway by 2030, according to Sebastian Thrun, leader of the
Stanford Racing Team that is working on Junior, an autonomous car that will
compete in the 2007 DARPA Urban Challenge. Robots are expected to make an
impact on the way the elderly are cared for, as they can both help around the
home and provide medical care and companionship. To create robots that can
maneuver through varying and problematic terrain, UC Berkeley biologist
Robert Full is developing technology inspired by cockroaches, crabs,
centipedes, and geckos. 

Read the entire article at:
http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/news/local/states/california/16727757.htm

Links:
David Calkins
http://engineering.sfsu.edu/faculty_and_staff/profiles_and_office_hours/faculty/david_calkins/

Sebastian Thrun
http://robots.stanford.edu/

2007 DARPA Urban Challenge
http://www.darpa.mil/grandchallenge/index.asp

Robert Full
http://www.pbs.org/kcet/shapeoflife/explorations/bio_full.html

Poly-Pedal
http://polypedal.berkeley.edu/twiki/bin/view/PolyPEDAL/WebHome