The National Science Foundation has joined hands with the United States Department of Agriculture, NASA and National Institutes of Health in their effort towards advancing the interaction between humans and robots.
These efforts are part of the government’s National Robotics Initiative and the agencies hope to work on artificial intelligence that can be used to aid the human effort in overcoming dangerous tasks or in doing mundane tasks. NSF intends to enhance the productivity of the nation through advanced robotic solutions.
Subra Suresh, the director of NSF, considers the participation of NSF in the National Initiative as an opportunity to get exposed to the expertise of other government agencies and boosting the economy of the US. Some of the industries that derive benefits from robotic solutions are logistics, healthcare, medicine and agriculture.
The University of Zurich has developed the first robot in the world that has a brain, muscles and tendons. The robot is even capable of learning from the mistakes, it has committed and avoids repeating the same mistakes.
Source: http://www.nsf.gov/