You don't see robots, but you do see hammers, as well as needles and thread.
And we think that it won't be until robots are truly accessible -- 14-year-olds hacking on Wi-Fi-connected, computer-vision-capable robots in their garages on the weekends -- that innovation in robotics will really take off in earnest.
Cornell University may be the host of the Cornell Cup competition, but that doesn't mean it can't bring its own robots to join in on the fun.
"We won't have to worry about robots replacing us quite yet, " added Titan's Mr. Etherington.
Until the technology gets a lot better, people aren't going to buy household robots because they need them.
Just hope that the inevitable struggle between humans and robots isn't settled with a ping-pong match... it might end badly.
ENGADGET: German robot arm learns ping-pong as it plays humans, might rival its masters
Ian MacDonald, an oceanographer at Florida State University who has worked with remotely operated vehicles in his research, says the robots can't replicate human dexterity.
Robots aren't bad as add-ons in the classroom, says Noel Sharkey, a professor of artificial intelligence and robotics at the University of Sheffield in England.
Things get murkier still when oil companies drill deep below the surface of the ocean floor, since even robots can't go down there to see what's going on.
Corporations aren't going to build these robots, but hackers will.
I've clocked it: In my modestly sized rooms, the time it takes to prepare, deploy and clean the robots isn't much less than what it takes to vacuum or sweep.
Those looking to tinker with humanoid robots aren't exactly lacking for options these days, but Cognitive Spring is taking a slightly different approach than most with its Arduino-based cSpring bipedal robot -- one of the semifinalists in the Insert Coin competition here at Expand.
ENGADGET: Insert Coin semifinalist: cSpring bipedal robot platform hands-on (video)
"Something really interesting happens between some kids with autism and robots that doesn't happen between those children and other humans, " says Maja J Mataric, a roboticist at the University of Southern California.
Although we don't know precisely when these intelligent robots will start mopping our floors (or taking over our domicile), we're sure the undisclosed price will keep them in the hands of the rich and famous for awhile anyway.
ENGADGET: ED unveils programmable, home-serving U-ROBO bot with RFID
The desert village in the famous cantina scene is replaced by a teeming city, bustling with robots and aliens that weren't there before.
"Sometimes the robots would listen and sometimes they wouldn't, " she said.
The machines aren't the humanoid contraptions many people conjure when they think of robots Lipson's robots consist of a stack of three white plastic cubes that stand as a simple tower.
Walking through Oceaneering's warehouse full of boxy robots on stilts, Campbell says people don't realize how far these machines have to travel to monitor the oil that's gushing into the Gulf every day -- or how well-equipped they must be.
But she couldn't get her drug screen for integrase blockers to work with the robots Merck had at the time.
Tiny countertop robots inform us that, say, arugula doesn't go with boiled carrots or that lemon grass tastes awful with chocolate milk.
Robotic Ukulele Players: Mike and Jarvis' reggae-playing Ukulele robots were widely reported earlier this year, but they weren't the real pioneers.
Professor Shuji Hashimoto, director of the humanoid robotics centre at Waseda University in Tokyo, has a theory: robots need a solid dose of those Japanese manners (don't we all?) encompassed in the Japanese word kansei, which includes feelings, mood, intuitiveness and sensibility.
ENGADGET: Japanese prof thinks robots need emotional sensibilities
But rural travelers aren't the only ones who need to be wary of over-trusting their helpful navigation robots.
They'll think of robots as collaborators or partners or members of their squad, and it won't be unusual for them anymore, like it would be for us, because we come from a prior generation.
We're talking, of course, about the company's line of PackBot robots, who thanklessly perform reconnaissance in hostile areas and disarm explosives so humans don't have to -- sadly, not always making it out in one piece.
However, it isn't unthinkable that these functions could be performed by a machine, even though there is no telling whether robots will ever replace jockeys.
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