Robotics takes off

Abstract

In a mere 50 years, robots have gone from being a topic of science fiction to becoming an integral part of modern society. They now are ubiquitous on factory floors, build complex deep-sea installations, explore icy worlds beyond the reach of humans, and assist in precision surgeries. These robots are improving our health, adding to our scientific understanding, raising productivity, and performing tasks that humans cannot do. The rapid increase in the capabilities, varieties, and applications of robots has been built on scientific and engineering research into power and actuation systems, artificial intelligence, onboard navigation, environmental sensors, manipulators, control systems, novel materials, microfluidics, systems integration, and many other advances. With this growth, the research community that is engaged in robotics has expanded globally. To help meet the need to communicate discoveries across all domains of robotics research, we are proud to announce that Science Robotics is open for submissions.