PUBLIC MARKS from Newspartnergroup with tag robots

The breadth of a smile can be measured by new technology from Japanese electronics and health care company Omron Corp.

The 2007 International Robot Exhibition, which began Wednesday and runs through Saturday, is sponsored by the Japan Robot Association

Cows at the farm line up by themselves and enter an automated stall one by one. A laser identifies each cow by a tag on the animal's neck, telling the machine where to place the automated milking equipment.

Nyack schools introduced robotics to middle-school students last year as an after-school class, then moved it into the classroom this year as a special component of the technology course.

Netherlands university student David Levy, who recently completed his PhD on the subject of human-robot relationships, told LiveScience that robots will become so human-like in appearance, function and personality that many people will fall in love with them, have sex with them and even marry them.

Russian design bureaus are currently working on the development of UAVs to be used for a variety of purposes e.g. reconnaissance systems for target detection and recognition to relay targeting coordinates to manned reconnaissance and strike aircraft. Various types of UAVs including unmanned helicopters are being developed. The systems capable of flying independently up to 10-12 hours will be either air-launched or deployed into aircraft-type flight.

The Japanese are trying to create a robot that will take over childminding and care of the elderly from human beings. The Koreans are working on a robot sentry that can distinguish the movement of people and shoot them on sight. The US military have commissioned a robot helicopter with a recoil-less rifle capable of tracking and killing a particular individual ...So are these machines a threat?

As the war in Iraq enters its fifth year, the federal government is spending more money on military robots and the two major U.S. robot makers have increased production.