Robotic Nation Evidence

Robot patrol: "Robots fitted with thermal cameras are being used to spot intruders at the World Cup in Berlin. Similar robots have also been used in Iraq to detect toxins and viruses. Are these the future of security?"

Microsoft Sets Its Sights on Robots and Artificial Intelligence:

"Microsoft released the preview version of a software toolkit for building robot applications today, pledging to ignite the robot market in the same way it did the PC market some 20 years ago. The software maker sees robotics as being on the verge of a rapid take-off, fuelled by the availability of cheap, high-performance hardware components. But the market is being held back by a need for better tools and a common software platform that will let applications be reused on different types of robots, according to Microsoft."

IBM, Georgia Tech Push Chip to 500 GHz:

"IBM and Georgia Tech have successfully pushed a cryogenically cooled transistor to 500 GHz, the two organizations announced on Tuesday. After cooling down a silicon-germanium chip to approximately 451 degrees Fahrenheit below 0, or 4.5 kelvin, Georgia Tech was able to clock the transistor at 500-GHz, versus a speed of about 350-GHz at room temperature."

LA's spy-in-the-sky drone sparks privacy concerns: "The future of law enforcement was launched into the smoggy Los Angeles skies at the weekend in the form of a drone aircraft intended to bring spy-in-the-sky technology to urban policing.

The unmanned aerial vehicle, called the SkySeer, looks like a remote-controlled toy and fits into a shoulder bag. In the air, the craft is guided by global positioning system coordinates, and a camera fixed to the underside sends video to a laptop command station."

When Humans Transcend Biology

Interview with Ray Kurzweil

Robot Rep Goes to School

From the article:

Lying in his hospital room, on a mattress designed to protect his fragile skin, 13-year-old Achim Nurse poked his bandaged fingers at an orange button on what looked like a souped-up video game console.

Half a second later, in a social studies class discussing the Erie Canal, a 5-foot-tall steel-blue robot raised its hand.

"You have a question, Achim?" said the teacher.

Achim is using a pair of robots -- one, called Mr. Spike, at his bedside, and its mate, Mrs. Candy, in the classroom -- to keep up with his schoolwork and his friends for the months he will be bedridden at Blythedale Children's Hospital in Valhalla, just north of New York City.

Things would be much better for Achim if he could Discard His Body, but as an interim step it is interesting.

Revealed: robot spyplanes to guard Europe's borders: "Fleets of unmanned "drone" aircraft fitted with powerful cameras are to be used to patrol Europe's borders in a dramatic move to combat people-smuggling, illegal immigration and terrorism. The Independent on Sunday can today reveal that the tiny planes will fly at more than 2,500 feet over the English Channel and Mediterranean beaches as part of a £1bn programme to equip Europe's police forces, customs officers and border patrols with hi-tech surveillance and anti-terrorism equipment."

Soon robots will be surveilling evryone. See Manna for details.