NOV/DEC 2001

FEATURES

Face-to-Face with Machine Intelligence
Guy Nolch is introduced to some of Rodney Brooks’ amazing robots.

Virtual Battlefields
Peter Robertson reports that advanced simulation and virtual reality are helping to devise better military tactics.

The Promise of Household Robots
Graham Mann explains why the dream of a domestic robot to take over daily household chores has not materialised, and describes some experimental robots that are about to emerge from the lab.

Intelligent Robotics: The Future is Here
Ray Jarvis introduces a number of robots being developed, from 4WD wheelchairs that avoid collisions to autonomous waterbikes that can assist in search and rescue operations.

AI in Medicine: Expert Assistants and Virtual Bodies
Laurie Wilson explains how AI is helping surgeons to plan complex surgical procedures.

Smart Software Agents with Personality and Intelligence
Lin Padgham explains how AI researchers are programming personality into their software.

Clever Bees Teach Machines to Fly
Peter Pockley discovers that the military is studying how bees process visual information in order to develop autonomous aircraft.

The Rights of Robots
Sohail Inayatullah looks to the courtrooms of the future where robotic attorneys represent a robotic plaintiff and defendant in front of a robotic judge.

Should Your Computer Program Have a Code of Ethics?
If we can’t trust humans, can we trust software agents to act in our best interests? Carolyn Dowling examines the issues.

DEBATE

Sydney’s Nuclear Target
Jim Green recounts previous security scares at Lucas Heights, and questions the wisdom of building a new and bigger nuclear reactor there.

Security Measures at Lucas Heights
ANSTO responds to questions about the security of the Lucas Heights reactor in the wake of the US terrorist attacks.

INSIGHT

Election Battleground Swamped by “War”
Peter Pockley trawls through wish-lists for science and university policies, and weighs up the parties’ records for delivering anything significant.

Giant Wombats and Red Herrings
Stephen Wroe and Judith Field conclude the debate on the cause of Australia’s megafauna extinctions.

UPDATE

Collapse in Science Students and Academics

Bee Vision Research Wins Australasian Science Prize

Insight into Asthma

Parkes Confirms Einstein

More PC Power

Medical Clues in Corals

Largest Australian Dinosaur Found

No Alternative Cold Cure

Land Clearing Reduces Pasture Productivity

Fertilise the Oceans, Feed the World

PM Awards Science Prizes

Ig Nobel Prize to Aussie

Businesswoman to Chair CSIRO

Value in Higher Education

Public Dialogue, not Monologue, Science Leaders Urge

Return of the Leonids

BRIEFS

CSIRO Staff Fight for Future

Little Value from CSIRO’s Patents

CSIRO in Top 5

Animal Antibiotic Alternative

Astute Ants

Low Rainfall Wood

Meteorological and Oceanographic Medal Awarded

Mummy Reveals All