Watch this interview from the WGBH Thinking Big series. "James McLurkin, a robotics engineer at the Computer Science & Artificial Intelligence Lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, imagines a world filled with robots, where man-made intelligent machines do the work deemed too dangerous for people -- such as searching for survivors in the rubble of collapsed buildings or exploring the farthest reaches of space. McLurkin acknowledges that such sophisticated robots are a long way off, but he hopes to have a fun-filled career trying to make it happen.". October 5, 2005. (more)

Computer Chronicles TV panel discussion for KCSM-TV San Mateo, CA. TV panel discussion for KCSM-TV San Mateo, CA. "Guests include Edward Feigenbaum of Stanford University, Nils Nilsson of the AI Center at SRI International, Tom Kehler of Intellegenetics, Herb Lechner of SRI, and John McCarthy of Stanford. Featured demonstrations include Inferential Knowledge Engineering and the programming language LISP." 1984. (more)

Patt Morrison's live one-hour public affairs show with guest host, Jon Beaupre. 89.3 KPCC-FM , Southern California Public Radio. "Our most vivid images of artificially intelligent machines tends to come from science fiction movies, and they usually fall into two categories: evil robots run amok, bent on destroying mankind or wise androids assisting and saving humans. The reality of A.I. machines is a little more complex, but the advancements are coming in leaps and bounds with ever more intelligent and autonomous systems that are being designed for such tasks as caretakers for children and the elderly, independent transportation vehicles and war making. There are still many ethical and safety concerns that must be addressed. How long before we can all expect to have our own A.I. robot friend in our homes?". July 24, 2007. (more)

Join NOVA for an exclusive backstage pass to the DARPA Grand Challenge—a raucous race for robotic, driverless vehicles sponsored by the Pentagon, which awards a $2 million purse to the winning team. Armed with artificial intelligence, laser-guided vision, GPS navigation, and 3-D mapping systems, the contenders are some of the world's most advanced robots. The program is divided into seven segments: A Hard Problem; The Red Army; Team Dad, TerraMax, and Ghostrider; Stanley; Making the Cut; The Race is On; and Everybody Wins. March 28, 2006. (more)

Nova scienceNOW broadcast segment about "a daring engineer designs robots to communicate and interact the way people do." "Thinking outside the box of traditional engineering, Breazeal designs these robots with theories of child development and parent-child interactions in mind, equipping her creations with an ability to learn and giving them expressive, human-like features. And if, as Breazeal hopes, robots are to become our partners, they need to develop the same social skills as people, including emotions. NOVA scienceNOW joins Breazeal in her lab and introduces viewers to some of her seminal inventions: the famous toddler- like robotic head named Kismet; Leonardo, a million-dollar joint project with Stan Winston, legendary in Hollywood for The Terminator robots; and a touch-sensitive teddy bear called the Huggable, which may someday comfort patients and assist caregivers in hospital pediatric wards." November 21, 2006. (more)

Rodney Brooks is beginning to build the first robot with human-like senses, allowing it to learn about the world for itself, like a human baby. April 9, 1997. (more)

Researchers build artificial intelligence software modeled on the canine mind. October 22, 2002. (more)

Robot soccer teams test their mettle in RoboCup 99. In these games, speed and strategy are the keys to victory. November 2, 1999. (more)

Philosopher and author Dan Dennett marvels at the human machine and its unique ability to wonder. December 19, 2000. (more)

Computer engineers are developing autonomous cars that can follow the highway and avoid obstacles without human intervention. April 9, 2007. (more)

The world’s best robots compete to navigate mazes and chase after tennis balls, to test out the latest artificial intelligence programs. April 9, 1997. (more)

Students compete to build a flying machine capable of autonomous flight. January 7, 1996. (more)

Natural selection is at work in the artificial world, as robots learn to reproduce without us. December 19, 2000. (more)

SAGE, Bit and Kismet are robots with social skills. Researchers hope robotic emotions will make tomorrow's technology more user-friendly. November 2, 1999. (more)

Teams of robots programmed for soccer go head-to-head in RoboCup 2001. May 21, 2001. (more)

3 segments: Part 1 - Watch the Road. Alan rides in a vehicle that recognizes road signs and hazards – and warns the driver to slow down. Part 2 - Hold the Phone! Alan 'drives' the Ford VIRTTEX simulator that researchers use to investigate how distractions like cell phone calls or drowsiness affect driver safety. Part 3 - Smart Passenger. A virtual smart passenger named Sally listens in to the driver's speech at all times and responds appropriately. January 26, 2005. (more)

3 segments: Part 1 - Ripley: Ripley is a robot that can see, hear and manipulate its environment. Alan watches him figure out how to 'pick up the heavy one' from an array of objects. Part 2 - Leonardo the Lovable: Cute little Leonardo learns from his interactions with people and their reactions to him. Robonaut is meant to become a robot that's just another member of an astronaut team. We see how a remote operator could control Robonaut to do complicated tasks in space. April 13, 2005. (more)

Ziya Tong talks to Red Whittaker about his career path, autonomous robots in hazardous environments and emergency situations, the DARPA Urban Challenge, his favorite robot, and much more. Film clips of his robots at work are interspersed throughout the discussion. 2007. (more)

"Ziya Tong meets children with Asperger’s Syndrome testing a new MIT Media Lab device that reads facial expressions." In the course of the report she discusses the project with several individuals including Rana el Kaliouby Ph.D. (Mindreader Software Developer, MIT)); Alea Teeters (MIT Affective Computing Group), and Rosalind Picard, Ph.D. (Director, MIT Affective Computing Group). October 3, 2007. (more)