The Science of Star Wars

Droids, bots, and artificial intelligence -- coming soon to rule the world. Right now, robots can clean the house, walk the dog, and identify lifesigns in the rubble of an earthquake. Soon, droids will replace astronauts on dangerous spacewalks and may even act as flying astromech droids to people living in space. How soon will it be before your mother has an unmanned drone to figure out what you're doing all day? Forget about Big Brother -- can the school principal use probe droids to patrol the hallways? Hosted by C-3PO and R2-D2.

How soon will we all be driving our own hovercrafts to work? Various vehicles that use air as a cushion to glide over ground or water are still in prototype stages. HyWire cars (hydrogen and by wire) that use a skateboard chassis are here today, complete with technology that allows the car to "sense" traffic patterns or danger ahead. Electromagnetic force charges a train that can go faster than 250 miles per hour without touching the track. What will be the new hot rods of the future? And will they have gonzo paint schemes? Hosted by C-3PO and R2-D2.

We haven't yet made a clone army, but we're getting there. From the Future Force Warrior (FFW-Army) to the Berkeley Lower Extremity Exoskeleton (BLEEX), we are equipping our fighters with clone trooper-like gear. Laser blasters being tested by the U.S. military are directed-energy weapons that use a laser beam to send an electric charge to the object of our dis-affections. If that doesn't do the job, the Close Quarters Shock Rifle projects ionized gas or plasma at the subject -- neutralizing a whole group of mobile attackers and killing their electronic ignition getaway systems at the same time. Hosted by C-3PO and R2-D2.