Ask a Scientist [topic: robots] August 6, 2008

THIS MONTH'S TOPIC: Robots

From Talos and Golem to Rosie the Maid and KITT the Car, artifical humans have long been a source of fascination to real humans. While fiction and fantasy abound with an animated cast of automatons ranging from evil to endearing, today's real robots are building our cars, defusing roadside bombs, and vacuuming up the dog hairs while we're at work. Find out what David Calkins, one of America's most respected robotics authorities, has to say about the past, present, and future of artificial intelligence. Among his numerous titles, David is president of the Robotics Society of America, founder of the ROBOGames, and co-founder and president of ComBots — the country's largest organizer of robot combat. So if you've got questions about robots, this is clearly the guy to ask. Oh, and I forgot to mention, David will also be bringing some very special guests with him: ROBOTS!

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