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A research pipeline between biologists and engineers has led to a new class of microrobotics, spawning a paperclip-sized mechanical flying insect that will weigh one-tenth of a gram and will measure 1 inch from wing tip to wing tip. The result will be applied in search and rescue missions, mine detection and even planetary exploration.

The U.S. Defense Department has developed an imagery system that allows full-motion video inputs from unmanned aerial vehicles, handheld cameras and similar devices to move directly from a sensor to an analyst's workstation. Based on recent advances in hardware and commercially available software, intelligence agencies can now capture and process uncompressed imagery in real time with sophisticated off-the-shelf products.

Researchers are testing a prototype computer interface that allows users to interact with a virtual reality world through brain impulses. If successful, this proof-of-concept device could greatly increase the mobility and independence of people who are paralyzed or have similar conditions.

Emergency response personnel are exploring virtual reality to practice dealing with chemical or biological attacks. This combination of medical expertise and technology gives medical teams the opportunity to learn and to make mistakes on patients that simply can be rebooted.

Through the use of global positioning system technologies, today's commanders can keep track of man and machine in the battlespace. But in the not-too-distant future, these same decision makers will locate their personnel in physiological space and know how a soldier's physical condition could affect productivity, performance and ultimately the mission.

In an age when information dominance is key to mission success, a unit traditionally tasked with evaluating and optimizing long-range, ground-based radar is evolving into a team with a data analysis mission.

Holodecks may only exist in the realm of science fiction, but work underway at the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory will allow military personnel to not only view a deluge of data but also interact with it. Many of the technologies that are key to this effort are still in their infancy; however, researchers are examining some currently available commercial products that meet requirements identified by commanders. Today's data display systems allow military personnel to view substantial amounts of data on one interactive screen. Tomorrow's systems would invite commanders to step inside a scenario virtually and become immersed in situational awareness.

A new polymer-based electro-optic modulator may provide fiber optic networks with an order of magnitude increase in bandwidth that could clear the way for applications ranging from broadband Internet access to full-scale holographic projection currently found in science fiction television programs. Developed in a joint research effort by scientists at the University of Southern California (USC), Los Angeles, and the University of Washington, Seattle, the new technology also uses less power than present-generation modulators and features low noise disturbance.

A growing industry and government effort to provide nationwide Internet services has created an intricate maze of accessibility, content and quality control challenges. With the number of Internet users now totaling 320 million, more than a score of browsers in use and the development of constantly changing Internet technologies, the online challenges are complex. Navigation has been difficult, errors continue to creep in, and many users are excluded from access to a large number of World Wide Web sites.

Scientists at Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, New Mexico, are conducting ground-breaking research into super-small structures that has led to prototype devices such as ultraminiaturized chemical sensors and analyzers, tiny medical devices, super-strong alloys, and catalysts for destroying hazardous materials. Future applications could include filters that selectively admit or seal out substances through molecule-sized valves, medical devices that precisely monitor patient health and deliver exact doses of medication based on that data, and clothing that knows when the wearer is hot or cold and then admits air or becomes an insulator accordingly.