Forbes presents the masters of robotic innovation–entrepreneurs and researchers who are fusing advances in biomechanics, software, sensor technology, materials science and computing to create new generations of robotic assistants.

“Created under a U.S. Department of Defense contract by an MIT spinoff company called iRobot, Morticia is a military machine with a mission. Instead of carrying bombs, she carries eyes and ears, transmitting what she sees back over a wireless link. She is also a pioneer, showing us how robots are likely to be integrated into our jobs and our lives in the coming years.”
Morticia is a prototype of “Packbots,” which can be thrown into a vehicle and then “hurled through the window of an office building where a crook is holed up with some hostages.”

There’s also CoWorker, a mobile videoconferencing system.