5 Agencies Design Robots of the Future
From: Government Computer News - 10/25/2010
By: Henry Kenyon 

The US National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Defense Advanced Research
Projects Agency (DARPA), the National Science Foundation (NSF), and the
Agriculture (USDA) and Homeland Security (DHS) departments have collaborated
to form the Robotics Technology Development and Deployment (RTD2) program,
which aims to develop medical, military, scientific, agricultural and
bomb-disposal robots. The program is developing technologies for robots that
can work safely in close proximity to or in physical contact with people to
help carry out "mundane, dangerous, precise, or expensive tasks," according
to an RTD2 announcement. Both the NIH and NSF are interested in creating
robot caregivers and devices to assist the elderly, the disabled, and
hospital patients. The NSF is also looking into robot-assisted recovery,
rehabilitation, and behavioral therapy as well as specialized surgical and
medical robots. DARPA is trying to develop robot actuators that are safer and
stronger than human muscle. The USDA is researching ways for robotics to help
automate farm work. The DHS is focusing on technology that can detect and
disarm explosives. 

Read the entire article at:
http://gcn.com/articles/2010/10/25/five-agencies-team-up-to-develop-future-robots.aspx?sc_lang=en