The renowned ethical philosopher and animal rights advocate, Peter Singer, argues that as robots come closer and closer to achieving consciousness, humanity will have to consider how best to morally treat them and to what uses they can be put.

As the price of robotic technology drops and innovations expand their use into our homes and hospitals, scientists and legal scholars are convening to anticipate the legal, social, and ethical consequences of the coming robot revolution.

From ploughs to seed drills to tractors, evolving technology has brought about radical changes to agriculture over the years. Now the sector is poised for another shift as robotic farmhands gear up to make agriculture greener and more efficient.

Within a decade cars could start driving themselves on highways and in less than 25 years automakers may be producing vehicles "smart" enough to chauffeur passengers through city streets, according to Stanford computer scientist Sebastian Thrun.

A panel of robotics experts said robots capable of multiple domestic tasks, that can also provide companionship for their owners, will be available within 10 years. And the scientists claim it is already possible to give robots such "feelings".

Life-saving operations on soldiers in combat zones could become possible thanks to a portable robotic surgeon that allows doctors to perform surgery on the battlefield without endangering themselves.

US soldiers in Iraq are giving nicknames and forming emotional bonds with bomb-defusing robots they have come to regard as team-mates, according to the founder of iRobot, the company that invented the machines.

South Korea, the world's most wired country, is rushing to turn what sounds like science fiction into everyday life. The government, which succeeded in getting broadband Internet into 72 percent of all households in the last half decade, has marshaled an army of scientists and business leaders to make robots full members of society.

Researchers at the University of Toyko have developed a Robotic Catcher that can comfortably grab a ball careering through the air at 300 kilometres per hour, or 83 metres per second, its creators say. And, of course, the robot never gets tired of doing so.

Jordan Pollack argues that the ethical questions surrounding robotics -- should robots carry weapons, how closely should humans and robots be integrated, etc. -- should receive much more attention now before the robot revolution hits.