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 If the world's engineers have their way, robots will one day be in charge of the evening news and airport scanners will be able to read our veins. The stuff of sci-fi? Nope. It's all on show at WIRED's NextFest, a three-day convention of cutting edge robotics, medical imaging, video games and alternative energy.
And, the crowds love it. asap sorts through the technogarble and brings you the highlights.
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ROBOTS
Nevermind the hybrid cars and solar panels. What everyone wants to see are robots and more robots: Robots that play basketball, robots that read the news, cute furry robots in the shape of baby seals, and robots that dance — everything from the waltz to "the robot."
By the end, we're robot-ed out, but many attendees can't seem to get enough. What's the big deal?, we ask. "What? Everybody wants a robot," says Theodora Kunicki, a high school junior from Brooklyn, N.Y. "It's been a science-fiction staple for so long. It's a fantasy."
Among the robot fans is superstar movie director Ron Howard, who seems nonplussed that New Yorkers still greet him with "Hey, Opie!"
So, why robots? "It goes back to the idea of Frankenstein -- creating something from scratch, a human entity," Howard says.
Overall, robots are becoming more fluid and lifelike -- they only do "the robot" in jest. The most advanced react to touch and seem to glide on air. A humanoid robot called "Hubo" developed by the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology has a human-looking head attached to a robot body. It walks with two legs, moves its fingers and eyes, recognizes voices and faces, and is operated with wireless technology.
The price tag? "A lot," says engineer Han Il-young.
C'mon, a rough guess? Like a car salesman, he scribbles it on a piece of paper: 500 million won. Roughly $500,000.
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KUNG-FU FIGHTING
The biggest hit of the event — judging by the long line of schoolkids waiting their turn — is "Kick Ass Kung-fu," a video game that puts you in the picture.
No more control panel -- you stand on a tarp and act out your best kung-fu moves as your image appears on-screen karate-chopping an assortment of video bad guys.
"I remember seeing it on Nickelodeon, and I always wanted to do it. Finally, it's happening," says Patrick Marrero, 17, a high school senior from Brooklyn. Sweat pours from his face as fake-punches and kicks his way through a video universe.
The game, developed by Animaatiokone Industries in Finland, uses motion-sensing cameras and software that analyzes the resulting video signal. "Basically it's a mathematical analysis," says Animaatiokone's Perttu Hamalainen. "If you want to learn to do this, go to MIT."
The game costs up to $40,000 for the whole system.
As Marrero knocks out a virtual opponent, his friends cheer. At the end, a bonus: President Bush pops up as an on-screen adversary and pandemonium breaks out.
"Beat Bush! Beat Bush!" the kids scream. "You can do it! Stomp on him!"
Yet more evidence that New York is one blue state.
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SAVING ENERGY
 Sometimes, conserving energy can be as simple as turning down the thermostat.
At Sweden's Interactive Institute, experts are marrying science with design to create lights, radiators, radios and even power cords that help users visualize how much energy they are using.
A ceiling lamp has petals like a flower that only open if energy consumption in the household is low. The idea is to show that "power isn't just two holes in the wall," says project director Christina Ohman. The lamp will still work as a light if the petals don't open, but it's telling you to turn something else off to get the full effect.
 A power strip lit from the inside shows how much juice is running through it. Turn off your TV, and it's still lit up. That's because today's televisions don't really turn off but remain on "standby" until you turn them on again.
The solution? Disconnect everything when you go on vacation, Ohman says. "Pull out the plug."
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MADE IN JAPAN
As some would expect, the quirkiest offerings come from Japan. "In Japan, people are very familiar with robots," says Takanori Shibata, a senior research scientist at Japan's National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology.
His institute developed the baby seal robot, which has sensors under its fur and even in its whiskers. Pet it, and it responds to your touch. It costs $3,500. Already, 700 have been sold in Japan.
Need a ballroom dance partner? Japan's Tohoku University has developed a robot version. Price tag: $300,000.
Sick of Katie Couric already? Japan's Kokoro Company has a newscaster robot -- so lifelike, it's creepy. It retails for $300,000 and can be rented for $800 a day.
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COMBAT READY
 Meanwhile, American offerings dominate the security pavilion where even the U.S. Army has an exhibit.
In the future, night vision and infrared scopes will be melded right into a soldier's helmet, which will also have built-in communications equipment.
"We're constantly trying to upgrade and give the soldier everything that we have as civilians — BlackBerries, cell phones, PDAs," says Jean-Louis DeGay, an equipment specialist at the U.S. Army Natick Soldier Center in Natick, Mass.
Even medical imaging technology has security uses, says Jim Phillips, CEO of Luminetx of Memphis, Tenn., which makes hospital equipment that can visualize a person's veins under the skin.
"With your vein structure, no two people are alike," he says. A person could steal your fingerprints by lifting them off a glass, he says. "But you never leave your veins behind."
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Stephanie Hoo is asap's business writer. Bernadette Tuazon is asap's photo editor.
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