Increasingly, more capable robots will be able to adapt, to learn, and to interact with humans and other machines at cognitive levels.
Imagine a future where robots are so integrated in the fabric of human life that they become as common as smartphones are today. The field of robotics has the potential to greatly improve the quality of our lives at work, at home, and at play by providing people with support for cognitive tasks and physical tasks. For years, robots have supported human activity in dangerous, dirty, and dull tasks, and have enabled the exploration of unreachable environments, from the deep oceans to deep space. Increasingly, more capable robots will be able to adapt, to learn, and to interact with humans and other machines at cognitive levels.