Germany's Fraunhofer Institute, for instance, is involved in a European initiative to develop robots that are safe enough to operate alongside workers (at present, most industrial robots still have to be caged in case they accidentally hit someone) and capable of understanding simple instructions, including voice commands.

ECONOMIST: Automation

Leveraging industry-leading voice-recognition software, integrated GPS technology and a customer's Bluetooth-capable mobile phone, SYNC with Traffic, Directions and Information provides simple hands-free access to personalized traffic reports, precise turn-by-turn driving directions and up-to-date information including business listings, news, sports and weather.

ENGADGET: Sync adds turn-by-turn, traffic reports for some 2010 Fords

Simple language can be elegant, and deceptively plain declarative syntax is capable of hinting at a rich emotional complexity teeming underneath.

ECONOMIST: New fiction

It sounds like a good name for a simple but capable northern lass, who would have called a broom a broom and then used it to good effect.

ECONOMIST: Religions in history

It also allows you to get music from multiple Apple devices. iTunes music libraries are capable of playing music away from the PC and it is simple to use (no pairing, always ready).

ENGADGET: Acoustic Research unleashes pair of audio docks in AirPlay and Bluetooth flavors

Dr Stojanovic and his colleague Joanna Macdonald have used this approach to build simple DNA-based circuits capable of playing tic-tac-toe (though they take about half an hour to make each move).

ECONOMIST: DNA computing