www.theregister.co.uk Micro Autonomous Systems and Technology (MAST) Spider Surveillance Robot. image:39532:0::0

What do the B9, R2D2, C3PO, and the HAL 9000 computer all have in common?

You can send them all to the Smithsonian and put them on display. Next to the Jurassic exhibit.

But just in case these went by you so fast you missed them:

BAE SYSTEMS WINS US ARMY MINI-DROID HORDE CONTRACT

Global military contractor BAE Systems has announced that it will lead a large alliance of American academics in building an army of miniature robots to aid the US military. The effort, known as Micro Autonomous Systems and Technology (MAST), will receive $38m of US Army funding.

“Robotic platforms extend the warfighter's senses and reach, providing operational capabilities that would otherwise be costly, impossible, or deadly to achieve,” said Dr. Joseph Mait, MAST supremo at the US Army Research Lab.

The idea is that a variety of crawling or flying mini-droids will be produced, able to go into situations where human troops might fear to tread - caves, bunkers, mountains, hostile urban areas etc. The robo-bug army would then spy out targets and intel for human commanders to act upon.

There are two models so far: the aerial Dragonfly and the ground-crawling Spider (pictured above).

DIRECT BRAIN CONTROL OF HUMANOID ROBOT

This one is right out of Kurt Vonnegut's 'Sirens of Titan'. Only in reverse.

University of Washington researchers can control the movement of a humanoid robot with signals from a human brain.

Rajesh Rao, associate professor of computer science and engineering, and his students have demonstrated that an individual can "order" a robot to move to specific locations and pick up specific objects merely by generating the proper brain waves that reflect the individual's instructions.

The results were presented last week at the Current Trends in Brain-Computer Interfacing meeting in Whistler, B.C.

ARMY TESTING UNMANNED STRYKER CONVOYS

Engineers conducting show-and-tell with a 20-ton robot on the last day of two weeks of trials on Fort Gordon were cautiously optimistic.

The demonstration at Fort Gordon was a part of a much larger program of tests being conducted by the Robotics Technology Integration Team from the U.S. Army Tank Automotive Research and Development Engineer Center, General Dynamics Corporation and its sub-contractors.

The vehicles are part of a larger program set to bring vehicle electronics-vetronics technology integration and robotic systems to the force.

The system in testing at Fort Gordon is the robotic follower program. This program seeks to develop robots that can conduct convoy operations. One of the vehicles is called the CAT - short for crew integration and automation test bed. It serves as the manned leader vehicle.

The other vehicle serves as an unmanned follower in a convoy.

Just as long as you don't connect them into SkyNet, we should be fine.

TICKS BEWARE: RC TRUCK HACKED FOR PEST CONTROL

Ticks are a health hazard to humans and pets alike. Yet few spray pesticides indiscriminately in tick-infested areas, primarily out of concerns over environment and cost.

Justin Woulfe and his fellow students at the Virginia Military Institute came up with a novel solution. They hacked an RC truck, upgraded the drive motor to 11W, the batteries to 12V NiMH, and added an Atmel AVR ATmega8. The resulting robot, dubbed Tick Rover, was then sent out to comb the lawn.

The ticks that jumped onto the comb and were exposed to localized Permethrin, zapping the insect without leaving any chemicals behind. Environmentally it is much safer. But what about the cost?

At $500 a pop, Woulfe doesn't expect consumers to purchase the machine. But pesticide companies who invest in it could charge less for running the robot -- about $75 per acre -- than they now charge for spraying, which costs about $85 per yard.

Better Lawns and Gardens. Terminator-style. That one you CAN hook into SkyNet.

SWIM WITH THE ROBOT SHARKS

This unique robotic shark has a full-range of motion to replicate the smooth, sleek swimming of one of natures most efficient predators. It is able to gracefully maneuver up, down, left, right, and even backwards through water, in depths up to 9'.

Jaws even the kids can love.

Lastly, but not leastly:

INTELLIBOTÔ ROBOTICS FLOOR CLEANERS

Crothall Services Group, one of the nation's leading facility and support services contractors, has embarked on a significant long-term program with Intellibot Robotics LLC to install robotic floor cleaning equipment at key facilities across the country.

"Our customers expect quality, consistency and a good value," said Rob Bradford, Crothall regional vice president for the southeast. "Intellibot's robotic floor care machines give us controlled costs and have resulted in overwhelmingly positive customer feedback on cleaning performance. We plan to expand the application beyond our test sites for the benefit of our customers nationwide."

A great link to All Things Robotic here.

I used to remember when stuff like all this was supposed to be in the future.

Looks like the future is today. Can't wait to see what they think of tomorrow.

That's what I'm hoping, anyway.