While the human-like robots of science fiction have created unrealistic perceptions and expectations of actual robots, Bill Smart, a roboticist at Missouri's Washington University, thinks such misconceptions could nevertheless be helpful in robot design. Smart thinks those raised expectations were down to the impact of unrealistically human-like robots in movies and books. "People don't really know what they are. C-3PO in Star Wars is very humanlike, ... Read full entry

The autonomous, almost humanoid, robot of many a science fiction yarn, is almost reality. But unlike some of those sci-fi stories where malfunctioning, or otherwise, malevolent robots plot world domination, we're still in control. Right? Today, thanks to the relentless increase in the power of computing, the latest robots are being fitted with sophisticated systems that enable them to see, feel, move and work together. Robot engineers call this ... Read full entry