What will the world of tomorrow be like? How does progress happen? And why do we not have a lunar colony already? Cartoonist Zach Weinersmith (Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal) and researcher Dr. Kelly Weinersmith give us a snapshot of what's coming next, from robot swarms to nuclear-fusion-powered toasters. By weaving their own research, interviews with the scientists who are making these advances happen, and Zach's trademark comics, the Weinersmiths...

With robots, we are inventing a new species that is part material and part digital. The ambition of modern robotics goes beyond copying humans, beyond the effort to make walking, talking androids that are indistinguishable from people. Future robots will have superhuman abilities in both the physical and digital realms. They will be embedded in our physical spaces, with the ability to go where we cannot, and will have minds of their own, thanks to...