Intelligent computers that take over the world and an incurable virus that kills off the human race might sound like plots worthy of a Hollywood blockbuster - but scientists insist they are real threats. They are just two of the 12 ways the world could end, according to new research. A team from Oxford University's Future of Humanity Institute and the Global Challenges Foundation has come up with the first serious scientific assessment of the apocalyptic risks we face. Apocalypse:The danger of a supervolcano - one capable of producing an eruption 1,000 times larger than normal - is the amount of aerosols and dust sent into the atmosphere as they could create a'volcanic winter' A few of the scenarios arise from events that are out of our control - such as an asteroid hitting the Earth or the eruption of a supervolcano - but most emerge from human advancements. Some of these developments, particularly those that are technological, have the potential to bring great benefits humans - but could also lead to our demise.

A smart home full of devices connected to each other, as well as domestic robots are closer than we think, according to one futurologist. This year has seen a rush in the popularity of smart gadgets, with items like 3D printers and smart thermostats making it onto Christmas lists for the first time. The trend is a sign of the way technology will accelerate in 2015, according to London-based futurologist Dr James Bellini. Tipping pint: According to a recent survey, 26 per cent if people are most looking forward to getting a robot helper in the home. Technology giant Honda already has a domestic robot, Asimo (left).

Japanese researchers have revealed artificial intelligence software so smart it can beat most real students on a high school test. Known as To-Robo, the AI software scored higher on the English section of Japan's standardized college entrance test than the average Japanese high school senior, its developers said. It has also managed to double its score in just 12 months - raising hopes it will eventually pass the entrance exam for Tokyo University, Japan's most prestigious college. Man vs machine: Tokyo University helped this robot, Kirobo, which was sent to space. Now researchers hope to create artificial intelligence software so smart it can pass the university entrance exam itself. B: Yes, and he has to have an operation next week.

Honda has showcased a new system that can read road signs and spot pedestrians to lessen the chance of collisions – and it is set to be rolled out by the end of this year. The Japanese company's'Sensing' technology offers a collection of driving aids to make journeys safer and easier for drivers. They work using a'millimetre-wave radar' which is fitted to a car's radiator grille and a monocular camera mounted near the car's rear-view mirror. Honda has revealed a driver-assistive system that can read road signs and spot pedestrians to lessen the chance of collisions – and it's set to be rolled out by the end of this year. It uses a'millimetre-wave radar' which is fitted to a car's radiator grille and a monocular camera mounted near the car's rear-view mirror (illustrated) More than 1.2 million people are killed in car crashes around the world every year, but auto manufacturers are developing increasingly smart cars with a host of new safety features that give vehicles a mind of their own.

Many motorists dream of the day they can sit back and relax while their car drives itself. And while Google and other companies are working hard to make autonomous vehicles a reality, it could take years to create a car that can negotiate complex situations on the road – including wet weather conditions. Google's self-driving cars can't currently cope in heavy rain or snow – or find their way around 99 per cent of the US, an insider has admitted. A Google Insider has admitted that the firm's cars (pictured) are incredibly reliant on maps, can't cope with wet weather conditions and are unable to'see' potholes. According to MIT Technology Review, the current prototype cars are very reliant on maps to navigate and can't react like a human driver, dodging potholes and other hazards.

When Japan hosts the summer Olympics in 2020, prime minister Shinzo Abe is determined to make it an event to remember. And what better way, he claims, than to include robotic competitors to show off the world's technical achievements. Mr Abe made the comments during a tour of robotics factories in Tokyo and Saitama, where he also announced the creation of a taskforce to treble the size of the Japanese robotics industry. The industry could help revitalise the country's economy, and Mr Abe hopes to increase its market for machines to 2.4 trillion yen (£13.8 billion or $24 billion). 'In 2020, I would like to gather all of the world's robots and aim to hold an Olympics where they compete in technical skills,' Mr Abe said.

For years scientists have worked to find a way to make it easier for deaf and hearing impaired people to communicate. And now it is hoped that a new intelligent system could be about to transform their lives. Researchers have used image recognition to translate sign language into'readable language' and while it is early days, the tool could one day be used on smartphones. Researchers have used image recognition to translate sign language (pictured) into'readable language' and while it is early days, the tool could one day be used on smartphones Scientists from Malaysia and New Zealand came up with the Automatic Sign Language Translator (ASLT), which can capture, interpret and translate sign language. It has been tested on gestures and signs representing both isolated words and continuous sentences in Malaysian sign language, with what they claim is a high degree of recognition accuracy and speed.

Brazil's World Cup may be in full swing, but teams of robotic players are busy warming up to be in with a chance of lifting another trophy. The mechanical teams are set to battle it out on the pitch in a less well-known football tournament also taking place in Brazil this summer. A group of five humanoid'Drake' robots will compete as a team at the RoboCup 2014, which kicks off in Joao Pessoa on 21 July. RoboCup is an annual international robotics competition founded in 1997. It aims to promote robotics and artificial intelligence research.

By day, Dr John Elliott is a professor in Computing and Creative Technologies at Leeds Metropolitan University. But by night, his work takes on a more out-of-this-world nature – he's devising the methods we'll need to talk to aliens. Making first contact with extraterrestrial life by detecting a signal would be one of the defining moments in the history of humanity, but what if we don't know what they're saying? That's where Dr John Elliott comes in - he's been devising methods to decode an alien language for the day he believes we'll receive a message Dr Elliot has been working on decoding languages for two decades. In 1959, Cornell physicists Gieuseppi Cocconi and Philip Morrison published an article discussing the potential to use microwave radio to communicate between stars.

Emerging from a lake, a giant amphibious drone gingerly picks its way over Russia's Rzhevka military training ground. This huge drone is the latest in a menagerie of automated robots to be developed worldwide, adding to what some have described as the creation of ground-based robotic armies. Its appearance comes as large organisations, such as Google and Amazon, invest in drone technology, with some experts claiming the it could lead to a full on robotics war by 2020. Air-based drones have been under development in Russia for some time, with reports last year that the country had been developing a new 20-tonne attack unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). These latest images, however, provide a glimpse into Russia's future capabilities in ground-based drones.