How robots will change the American workforce

Thirty of the world's top scientists are scheduled to meet at UC San Diego in February to discuss the toughest challenges in robotics and automation, including how to make driverless cars safe for a mass audience. The experts are being brought together by Henrik Christensen, the prominent Georgia Tech engineer who was hired in July to run UC San Diego's young Contextual Robotics Institute. Christensen said at the time, "I want to build a research institute that, ideally, will be in the top five in the world five years from now. Why not see if we can make San Diego'Robot Valley.'" The February forum is being eyed as a step toward raising the university's visibility in robotics, a field defined by grand advances and embarrassing setbacks.