Fastbrick Robotics is ramping up staffing and resources as it moves toward assembling the first commercial version of its one-armed robot bricklayer. In a quarterly report, the company says the building program continues to gather momentum, with procurement well underway.

A next revolution in warfare where killer robots, or autonomous weapons systems, are common in battlefields is about to start. Both scientists and industry are worried.

The next literary hit to bear the same name as Jane Austen's 200-year-old masterpiece Emma isn't a book at all, but a thoroughly modern AI.

A new Australian team will take on the world's best at the biggest robot competition in Japan later this month.

"UTS Unleashed!" is the only Australian team to qualify for the 2017 RoboCup @ Home Social Robot League - a competition that requires teams to design robot behaviours that allow for interaction and collaboration with people in realistic home situations.

Business investment in robotic process automation is set to soar, according to new research. We're talking a leap from a $216 million market in 2017 to a $870 million one by 2020.

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For decades, robotics has been an essential component of factories, manufacturing plants and warehouses around the world. However, these are "robots" in the simplest sense of the term - mindless machines that serve a singular purpose. Companies are now beginning to invest in autonomous robots that can think for themselves. It sounds like the beginning of a dystonian sci-fi movie, but there's actually a very good reason why robot workers need a brain.

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In this project, we create a joystick-controlled laser by connecting two servos to a joystick and using this setup as a pan-and-tilt controller for a laser pointer.

Take a look around and you’ll see evidence of the widespread adoption of wearable sensors for health and fitness, such as the Fitbit, Garmin or other devices. What many people many not know is that we are also using sensors to monitor the structural integrity of bridges and buildings, as well as tracking the movements of insects and other animals. We have sensor devices everywhere these days. So what happens when you throw artificial intelligence into the mix so that they call all learn from each other?

According to the Committee for Economic Development of Australia (CEDA), robots could replace up to 40 per cent of Australian jobs by 2025. This week, Fastbrick Robotics unveiled a prototype bricklaying machine in Western Australia that can build a house four times faster than a human brickie; and the next model will be even quicker. If you work in construction, you should be worried.

"Make an appointment for 4pm today with Gary," I say to my assistant as I hang up from a promising phone call with a potential client. There was a time when you had to be high up in an organisation to have an assistant. My assistant is an artificially intelligent piece of software that lives in my smart phone. It makes me wonder if technologies like these could help a business grow.

Artificial intelligence has bested humanity in almost every intellectual pursuit going. They've trounced us at chess, murdered us on the TV show Jeopardy! and been crowned world champion at the ancient board game Go. But when it comes to poetry, computers are worse than that beret-wearing kid from high school who always rhymed "love" with "above". A poetic Turing test was recently held at Dartmouth College and the results were pretty messy.

Lethal autonomous weapons (or killer robots as the media likes to call them) was the subject of intense discussion in the corridors and committee rooms of the United Nations in Geneva. The international talking shop played host to the third round of multilateral talks on this topic. The meeting followed on from increasing concerns about the rapid progress being made in areas like artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics. Stephen Hawking, Elon Musk, Bill Gates and others have expressed concern about the direction these technologies may be taking us.

Nvidia GTC is the place where GPU developers converge to experience the latest in graphics technology. The three-day event covers everything from self-driving cars and artificially intelligent robots to supercomputers used in deep learning. Here are the most innovate and awe-inspiring products from the showroom floor.

It was Groucho Marx who said, "While money can’t buy happiness, it certainly lets you choose your own form of misery." Quite true, but what if there’s no money coming in from work because your job’s been taken over by a machine? Giving people free money for doing nothing is an option. Let's explore this radical idea.

Artificial intelligence and robotics have enjoyed a resurgence of interest, and there is renewed optimism about their place in our future. But what do they mean for us? We asked some of Australia's leading AI scientists and researchers to answer eight frequently asked questions on this topic -- from the implications of armed robots in the military to the potential impact of AI on human employment.

Being divorced and separated from your children can be tough -- especially when you've moved overseas. This is the situation Australian robotics engineer Matt Walker found himself in. His solution was to build a telepresence robot to hang out with his kids from halfway across the globe.

Nissan has debuted a new concept for the modern office: Intelligent Parking Chairs. As its name implies, these are motorised office chairs that can "drive" themselves back to their desk when not in use. It might sound stupid, but anyone who has ever worked in an open plan office will see the benefit here -- in short, it stops your chair from going missing during crowded boardroom meetings. (Also, chair races!)