Robotics
| Emerging technology | Status | Potentially marginalized technologies | Potential applications | Related articles |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Molecular nanotechnology, nanorobotics | Theory, experiments | Products and parts production, retail distribution | Machines (desktop, industrial) that can make anything given the materials, cheap planetary terraforming | |
| Powered exoskeleton | Research, development, prototypes, diffusion, commercializing | Electric wheelchairs, forklifts | Heavy lifting, paralysis, muscle related diseases, warfare, construction, care for the elderly and disabled. | LOPES (exoskeleton), ReWalk, Human Universal Load Carrier, fictional armor Iron Man's armor, Future Force Warrior |
| Self-reconfiguring modular robot | Theory, experiments, early prototypes | Other ways to form physical structures and machines | As a universal physical machine, SRCMR may change the way we make many physical structures and machines | Robot, swarm robotics, autonomous research robot |
| Swarm robotics | Theory, experiments | Distributed computing, complexity in behavior by simplicity in architecture | Autonomous construction, space construction | Swarm intelligence, autonomous robotics, nanorobotics, particle swarm optimization, multi-agent systems, behavior-based robotics |
| Unmanned vehicle | Research and development, some diffusion | Manned vehicles, human spying | Mass surveillance, eavesdropping, Oceanography, Commercial aerial surveillance of livestock monitoring, wildfire mapping, pipeline security, home security, road patrol and anti-piracy. Domestic aerial surveillance, patrol the nation's borders, scout property, and hunt down fugitives, Oil gas and mineral exploration and production, geophysical surveys, geomagnetic surveys, transport of goods, Scientific research in areas to dangerous for pilots like a droid hurricane tornado hunter, Armed attack, Search and rescue, explosives and Bomb disposal, peacekeeping operations, ground surveillance, gatekeeper/checkpoint operations, urban street presence, enhance police and military raids in urban settings. | Unmanned aerial vehicle, AeroVironment, AeroVironment Global Observer, AeroVironment Nano Hummingbird, Unmanned combat air vehicle, Unmanned ground vehicle, Unmanned space vehicle, Unmanned surface vehicle, Unmanned underwater vehicle, Autonomous underwater vehicle
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Read more about this topic: List Of Emerging Technologies