Fifty-one years after the first commercial robot went to work, the United States is approaching a tipping point. Within a decade, observers say, the average American household will include one or two simple robots, and though they may not look like the ones imagined in science fiction, these robots – some available now – will play pervasive roles in the lives of regular consumers.

But as roboticists prepare to unleash their creations, they’re confronted with a hurdle perhaps more daunting than the technical ones they’ve already cleared: consumer readiness – which includes such factors as skepticism, unrealistic expectations, confusion about what makes a robot, and a “Frankenstein complex,” or the fear of robots.

[Read](http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0531/p13s02-stct.html “Read the Story”) (Christian Science Monitory)

Engineers at Cornell have developed robots that can sense and respond to damage without human instruction. Pluck off part of a leg, and they adjust their gait to compensate. Eventually, robots like these could crawl into high-risk areas on search-and-rescue missions, or explore distant planets where no humans are around to repair robotic injuries.

[Read](http://www.nature.com/news/2006/061113/full/061113-16.html “Read the Story”) (Nature)

After its stalemate in Lebanon last summer, Israel needs new way to fight terrorists. The government has announced a new push into nanotechnology to develop tiny flying robots — but what would keep guerrilla fighters from using them?

The “bionic hornet,” could chase, photograph and kill, say, a terrorist hiding with a rocket launcher in a civilian neighborhood — as an alternative to bombing the neighborhood.

[Read](http://www.spiegel.de/international/0,1518,449171,00.html “Read the Story”) (Der Spiegel)

A matchbox-sized robot that can infiltrate a pack of cockroaches and influence their collective behaviour has been developed by European scientists. The robot smells and acts just like a roach, fooling the real insects into accepting it as one of their own. Through its behaviour, the robot can persuade a group of cockroaches to venture out into the light despite their normal preference for the dark.

[Read](http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn9136&feedId=online-news_rss20) (New Scientist)

Robots may not be able to do everything humans can, but the latest version of Sony’s humanoid robot has something many people might find useful: a third eye.

Read (Reuters) via the [Robotics Breaking News Blog](http://breakingnewsblog.com/robotics/archives/sonys_robot_focuses_with_third_eye/)

I’d like to have a third eye, but instead of having it in the middle of my forehead, I’d like to have it in the back of my head.

It’s official, Stanley, the Volkswagen Touareg, won Grand Challenge race.

Read (Nature)

Four robotic vehicles finished the DARPA Grand Challenge Saturday and achieved a technological milestone by conquering steep drop-offs, obstacles and tunnels over a rugged 132-mile course without a single human command.

Read (AP via Washington Post)

What a difference a year makes.

Despite losing the race, Tech won some bragging rights at the Grand Challenge.

The 2 Virginia Tech vehicles made it approximately 40 miles before breaking down.

Read (Roanoke Times)

Dan Homerick has 87 photos that were taken at the 2005 DARPA Grand Challenge Qualifying event.

View (Flickr)

[DARPA](http://www.darpa.mil/) [announced](http://www.grandchallenge.org/downloads/NQE%20Final1.pdf “pdf Press Release”) the finalists for Saturday’s (10/8) [Grand Challenge](http://www.grandchallenge.org/).

Here’s the list of finalists:

Unfortunately, Charlottesville’s [Team Jefferson](http://www.perronerobotics.com/dgc/) did [not](http://www.perronerobotics.com/dgc/index_news.htm) make the cut.

Inventors show off machines that climb walls, change shape and chase people around the room. But a new report finds U.S. funding for civilian robotics research is dwindling.

Read (Wired)

Robots that can work together as a team to search collapsed buildings for trapped casualties are being developed by researchers at Glasgow University. Currently, firefighters use a camera on a long pole to investigate dangerously unstable structures following a fire, explosion, or other disaster. The robots would enable them to do this far more thoroughly and could also allow rescuers to talk to anyone trapped inside and get water to them.

Read (The Scotsman) via the [Robotics Blog](http://breakingnewsblog.com/robotics/archives/robots_to_help_fire_crews_seeking_survivors/)

[DARPA](http://www.darpa.mil) [announced](http://www.darpa.mil/grandchallenge/NQE_Press_Release.pdf) (pdf file) the 40 [Grand Challenge](http://www.darpa.mil/grandchallenge) teams selected to advance to the National Qualification Event. The teams come from a variety of backgrounds including universities, individuals, corporations, and a high school.

Both of [Virginia Tech’s](http://www.me.vt.edu/grandchallenge/) teams made the cut. [Team Jefferson](http://www.perronerobotics.com/dgc/index.htm) includes someone I used to work with, and their vehicle doesn’t look anything like the other vehicles. [Team CajunBot](http://www.cajunbot.com/site.php) is back, but their vehicle is a Jeep Wrangler this time. [Carnegie Mellon](http://www.redteamracing.org/) also has 2 teams in the race. 78 teams did not make the cut.

On May 18 Stanford announced its entry in the DARPA Grand Challenge, a 175-mile driverless race across the Mojave Desert. It’s a gray Volkswagen Touareg, a state-of-the-art sport utility vehicle modified with oversized wheels, a reinforced bumper and a protective metal plate under the car. The fuel-efficient turbodiesel engine allows the vehicle to complete a 10-hour race and power all its electronics on a single tank of gas. And unlike many competitors, Stanley is fully street legal. The Grand Challenge, which is scheduled for Oct. 8, will pit 20 robotic competitors on an unpredictable, obstacle-filled course.

Read (Stanford)

When two robots arrive at a doorway, who should go first?

Read (Nature)