Bletchley Park computer museum homes veteran robot George
Former spy catcher and RAF officer Tony Sale built a working robot shaped like a human in 1950. "George" was made from metal salvaged from a crashed bomber aircraft and could steer himself towards an illuminated bottle of beer in his heyday. Read more
A robotic exo-skeleton that makes it easier for soldiers to run and carry heavy weights is to go through final testing in the US. The HULC (Human Universal Load Carrier) allows soldiers to carry weights of up to 200lbs (91kg) with little effort and is designed to reduce the strain of carrying heavy equipment. It works by transferring the load to the ground through the exoskeleton's titanium legs and uses an onboard computer to sense and mimic the user's movements. Read more
Boeing has unveiled its unmanned hydrogen-powered spy plane which can fly non-stop for up to four days. The high-altitude plane, called Phantom Eye, will remain aloft at 20,000m, according to the company. Read more
The UK Ministry of Defence has unveiled its prototype unmanned combat air vehicle (UCAV). Taranis is a concept design for a long-range strike plane that has taken over three million man hours to produce. Named after the Celtic god of thunder, Taranis is the first step in the development of unmanned strike aircraft, capable of penetrating enemy territory. Read more
Back in the early 1970s, a handful of scientists, engineers, defence contractors and U.S. Air Force officers got together to form a professional group. They were essentially trying to solve the same problem: how to build machines that can operate on their own without human control and to figure out ways to convince both the public and a reluctant Pentagon brass that robots on the battlefield are a good idea.Read more
Researchers from Columbia University, Arizona State University, the University of Michigan and the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) have created and programmed robots the size of single molecule that can move independently across a nano-scale track. This development, outlined in the May 13 edition of the journal Nature, marks an important advancement in the nascent fields of molecular computing and robotics, and could someday lead to molecular robots that can fix individual cells or assemble nanotechnology products. Read more
A future in which robots help around the home could prove harmful to humans, suggests a study. German researchers studied what happens in accidents involving robots using sharp tools alongside humans. They used a robot arm holding a variety of bladed tools programmed to strike test substances that mimic soft tissue. In some cases, the researchers found, the robots managed to accidentally inflict wounds that would prove "lethal". Read more
A humanoid robot could be walking on the moon - and drawing the Japanese flag on its surface - by 2015, according to a plan proposed by a group of Japanese companies. Experts say wheeled or many-legged robots would be easier to operate on the moon's uneven terrain, but backers of the proposal say a two-legged android would make a bigger splash in the public imagination. The plan was announced last week by a small cooperative of companies in Osaka called Astro-Technology SOHLA, which launched a small satellite called Maido-1 to study lightning in January 2009. Read more
In a not too distant future, on a space station not too far away, there will be a 300-pound human-like robot to assist astronauts on space missions. And it will be a GM. At least that's the plan for Robonaut 2, or R2, a space station robot developed by NASA and General Motors Corp. Read more
Geological "spiders," packed with instruments to monitor the heaves, sighs and belches of Mount St. Helens, are expected to migrate south this month. Two of the contraptions are headed to Chaiten, a volcano in Chile that began erupting in 2008 after about 9,000 years of dormancy. The spiders, as they are nicknamed, will be making their international debut. The Chilean volcano, 760 miles south of the capital, Santiago, may be settling down after spewing ash and pumice, creating mudflows and causing floods that displaced a town of 4,000 people. But volcanologists want to make sure. Read more