For more than a decade, boxes have helped Google dominate search - both the rectangle on its home page and the web browser address bars that send users to its results. But smartphones now account for more internet use than PCs, and that changes things. "When you have a 5in-diagonally-across screen - it's not designed to type," acknowledges Google's search chief Amit Singhal. "So, on mobile you have to fundamentally give users new ways to interact." To address the problem, Mr Singhal's team has developed Now on Tap.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is the science of making smart machines, and it has come a long way since the term was coined in the 1950s. Nowadays, robots work alongside humans in hotels and factories, while driverless cars are being test driven on the roads. Behind the scenes, AI engines in the form of smart algorithms "work" on stock exchanges, offer up suggestions for books and films on Amazon and Netflix and even write the odd article. But AI does not have the greatest public image - often due to sci-fi films that display dystopian visions of robots taking over the world. Over the next week, the BBC will be looking into all aspects of artificial intelligence - from how to build a thinking machine, to the ethics of doing so, to questions about whether an AI can ever be creative.

Honda's Asimo robot has grown up - with its latest upgrade giving it enhanced intelligence, added dexterity and the ability to run 5.6mph (9km/h). The first Asimo was created in 2000, and is seen as one of the leading attempts at creating a humanoid. The latest version is able to change its actions depending on what happens around it - such as moving out of a person's way. The 4ft (130cm)-tall robot is also able to do complex sign language. Asimo - which stands for Advanced Step in Innovative Mobility - is eventually intended to help people in various situations of need, such as the elderly, or those in disaster zones.

Microsoft has unveiled a "real-time" language translation feature for its internet phone service Skype. Chief executive Satya Nadella said the firm would launch a test version of the service, dubbed Skype Translator, for Windows 8 later this year. The move comes as competition in the internet-based phone service sector has been rising, forcing firms to look at ways to attract more users. According to Microsoft, Skype currently has 300 million monthly users globally. "It is going to make sure you can communicate with anybody without language barriers," said Mr Nadella, who took over as chief executive in February.

Drones are becoming more common in our skies, performing a variety of tasks, from taking photos to monitoring crops and potentially even delivering broadband. But there are strict rules about their usage, which has led some to come up with innovative ways to fly such vehicles more safely. "I'm using a dog leash for a small dog," says roboticist Sergei Lupashin as he demonstrates a new kind of consumer-friendly drone at the Ted (Technology, Entertainment and Design) conference in Vancouver. By tethering it, he hopes the Fotokite, as it is called, can avoid some of the issues faced by unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), which are banned without a special licence because of safety and privacy concerns. "It doesn't rely on GPS [ Global Positioning System], sophisticated machine vision, radio, it doesn't even use a compass. Most crashes today happen because of GPS, radio or piloting issues," says Dr Lupashin.

BMW has shown off self-driving cars that can "drift" around bends and slalom between cones. The modified 2-Series Coupe and 6-Series Gran Coupe are able to hurtle round a racetrack and control a power slide without any driver intervention. Using 360-degree radar, ultrasonic sensors and cameras, the cars sense and adapt to their surroundings. BMW demonstrated its latest autonomous driving technology at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. It is just one of several car manufacturers experimenting with the technology - Japan's Toyota has also been demonstrating its autonomous car at CES.

The nuclear reactor is breached and belching out toxic waste. A mere human would have no chance of survival. But the mechanised rescue team that clanks into action soon has the situation under control. This isn't fantasy - if the Pentagon has its way robot squads will soon handle such man-made disasters. To spur on the technology the US defence headquarters' research unit has selected 17 teams and their machines - from more than 100 who applied - to compete in the Darpa Robotic Challenge (DRC) trials near Miami, Florida this Friday and Saturday.

An app offering real-time translations is to allow people in Japan to speak to foreigners over the phone with both parties using their native tongue. NTT Docomo - the country's biggest mobile network - will initially convert Japanese to English, Mandarin and Korean, with other languages to follow. It is the latest in a series of telephone conversation translators to launch in recent months. Alcatel-Lucent and Microsoft are among those working on other solutions. The products have the potential to let companies avoid having to use specially trained multilingual staff, helping them cut costs. They could also aid tourism.

Software that can translate spoken English into spoken Chinese almost instantly has been demonstrated by Microsoft. The software preserves intonation and cadence so the translated speech still sounds like the original speaker. Microsoft said research breakthroughs had reduced the number of errors made by the instant translation system. It said it modelled the system on the way brains work to improve its accuracy. Details about the project were given by Microsoft research boss Rick Rashid in a blogpost following a presentation he gave in Tianjin, China, in late October that had, he said, started to "generate a bit of attention". In the final few minutes of that presentation the words of Mr Rashid were almost instantly turned into Chinese by piping the spoken English through Microsoft's translation system.

Researchers have developed robots that learn to live with damaged parts in less than a minute, instead of the many hours needed by traditional self-learning systems. The system paves the way for robots to be used in a wide variety of settings, coping with damage that occurs in the real world. Possible applications include robots looking after the elderly, rescuing earthquake victims or doing housework. We marvel at the robots we see in films: some try to wipe out humanity, such as Ultron in the recent Avengers film, while others like C-3PO in Star Wars are helpful albeit slightly annoying. But they are the still the stuff of science fiction, partly because if the slightest thing goes wrong with a real-life robot it usually stops working altogether.