Editorial

One of the roles of AI Magazine is to keep readers informed about the practical impact of AI research. One year ago, articles in the magazine described two robotics challenge domains, RoboCup rescue and urban search and rescue, both designed to promote research related to robotic agents for disaster search and rescue. In the tragic aftermath of the World Trade Center attack, research experiments were replaced by reality as search and rescue robots moved into the field, assisting in the World Trade Center rescue efforts. The current issue includes an article discussing lessons from this experience. For many AAAI members, the first news of the robot rescue efforts came from AI Alert, a AAAI service that distributes selected items from the AI in the News page on AAAI's AI Topics web site.