Micro-UAVs for domestic surveillance

220 applications pending at FAA from U.S. law enforcement to use UAVs!

Washington Post.

Information overload

NY Times article discussing information overload for the military. Some of this has come about because of the large number of autonomous robots collecting information. The problem will get really serious when the number of robots starts to really increase.

Robots as waiters

Robots as waiters in China.

Best quote:

"They have a better service attitude than humans," said Li Xiaomei, 35, who was visiting the restaurant for the first time.

Study shocker: babies think friendly robots are sentient -- Engadget

Turing test passed? Study shocker: babies think friendly robots are sentient -- Engadget

Robots Are Stealing American Jobs, According to MIT Economist | Popular Science

Robots have taken all the jobs? Robots Are Stealing American Jobs, According to MIT Economist | Popular Science

Videos of Robot Controlled By Rat Brain – Amazing Technology Still Moving Forward | Singularity Hub

Rats are going to take over the world! Videos of Robot Controlled By Rat Brain – Amazing Technology Still Moving Forward | Singularity Hub

Largest ever swarm of flying robots takes to the sky

EPFL gets 10 UAVs up in the air at once.

Largest ever swarm of flying robots takes to the sky

Medical Daily: Robotic arm's big flaw: Patients say it's 'too easy'

Looks like us roboticists are working too hard.

Medical Daily: Robotic arm's big flaw: Patients say it's 'too easy'

U.S. drones to watch entire Mexico border from September 1 | Reuters

An awful lot of UAVs. U.S. drones to watch entire Mexico border from September 1 | Reuters

Shape Changing Drone Beats Bad Weather - International Business Times

Bit of an exaggerated title, but the wings can be actively deformed to help deal with rough air. Shape Changing Drone Beats Bad Weather - International Business Times

MIT Robots Self Clean Oil Spills | EarthTechling

Robots for cleaning up oil spills.

MIT Robots Self Clean Oil Spills | EarthTechling

Autonomous Robots Blog

Blog for the Autonomous Robots journal. Autonomous Robots Blog

Right Whale Listening Network, Cornell, Bioacousti

A nice use of sensor networks.

Right Whale Listening Network, Cornell, Bioacousti

YouTube - Robot learns to flip pancakes

YouTube - Robot learns to flip pancakes

Robot skill learning is becoming pretty advanced and reliable.

South Korea deploys robot capable of killing intruders along border with North - Telegraph

South Korea deploys robot capable of killing intruders along border with North - Telegraph: "the operator can order it to fire its gun or 40mm automatic grenade launcher."

Revenge of the quadrocopters: now they move in packs (video) -- Engadget

Revenge of the quadrocopters: now they move in packs (video) -- Engadget

Very slick work from the GRASP lab at U. Penn.

Military drone aircraft: Losses in Afghanistan, Iraq - latimes.com

Military drone aircraft: Losses in Afghanistan, Iraq - latimes.com

Thirty-eight Predator and Reaper drones have crashed during combat missions in Afghanistan and Iraq, and nine more during training on bases in the U.S.

This is why autonomy is so important and why the USAF is being pushed to get pilots out of the loop.

Blogging, Tic Tac Toe and the Future of Math at Steven Landsburg | The Big Questions: Tackling the Problems of Philosophy with Ideas from Mathematics, Economics, and Physics

A better way of doing science: Blogging, Tic Tac Toe and the Future of Math at Steven Landsburg | The Big Questions: Tackling the Problems of Philosophy with Ideas from Mathematics, Economics, and Physics

When will robotics and computer science become as collaborative as this?

Air Force to launch robotic winged space plane - Yahoo! News

Air Force to launch robotic winged space plane - Yahoo! News: "After a decade of development, the Air Force this month plans to launch a robotic spacecraft resembling a small space shuttle to conduct technology tests in orbit and then glide home to a California runway."

Later, in the article: "The Air Force released only a general description of the mission objectives: testing of guidance, navigation, control, thermal protection and autonomous operation in orbit, re-entry and landing."

Adorable Laundry-Folding Robot Gives Your Towels Fastidious Attention | Popular Science

Ahhh, this is how the guys at Willow Garage are going to make money .... Adorable Laundry-Folding Robot Gives Your Towels Fastidious Attention

Unmanned Aircraft in Commercial Airspace

Robotics Business Review: "On December 3, 2009, GE Aviation and partner AAI Corp., makers of the Shadow family of tactical unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), successfully demonstrated the ability for an unmanned aircraft to be controlled by a four-dimensional trajectory (4DT) FMS certified by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for operations in the U.S. national airspace system (NAS)."

ICRA'10 Program

ICRA'10 Program available.

Such a huge conference.