2005 technology in review

A look back at some of the most significant technological innovations in the news during the past year, as deemed by readers and editors.

A new SAE Aerospace committee has been formed to develop and implement standards for unmanned systems. The standards define an open architecture within which hardware and software components developed by any vendor can communicate and function together in any robotic device.

Although it is an aerospace committee, the group's work is expected to cross industries (aerospace, automotive, and off-highway) and segments (civil and military). In fact, the group had initially formed in the mid-1990s as a non-SAE committee addressing unmanned ground vehicles, and it had developed a number of standards that were, and are still, used within its small universe. Previously called JAUS (Joint Architecture for Unmanned Systems Working Group), the group approached SAE because it wanted its work to be adopted by a standards-setting organization with a high profile and global reach.