In recent tests at Ft. Benning, Ga. a Northrop Grumman Fire Scout unmanned helicopter ferried a ground robot, the QuinetiQ's Dragon Runner, to its deployment point. The helicopter scanned the ground for obstacles before setting down, releasing the Dragon Runner when the Fire Scout's on-board skid sensors detected contact with the ground. Within seconds, the UAV was hovering overhead, providing a communication relay between the ground surveillance robot and its human distant human controller.

GENESIS

Price Tag: $1.2 billion
Completion Date: 2009
Total Length: 1180 feet
Passengers: 6400

In the cruise ship industry, the battle for bragging rights has turned into a QE2-size slugfest. In 2003, Cunard stole the crown for world's largest cruise ship when it launched the 151,410-ton Queen Mary 2; three years later Royal Caribbean topped it with the 154,000-tonFreedom of the Seas. Now, Royal Caribbean is set to raise the stakes yet again with the 220,000-ton Genesis, slated to launch in 2009 from a shipyard in Turku, Finland. (A second Genesis will launch a year later.) Why is bigger better? "Having more real estate, we can provide more deck area," says Royal Caribbean's Harri Kulovaara. "That means more entertainment options and better amenities."

Make no mistake, Genesis will be no lumbering behemoth. The ship's three main propellers will swivel 360 degrees on independent bearings. All will be driven by electric motors powered by the ship's central bank of six diesel generators, and steered by an integrated navigation and control system. From the bridge, the captain will be able to move the ship in any direction — forward, backward, sideways — with the flick of a joystick. No tugboats required.