Dr. David Samadi of New York's Mount Sinai Medical Center recently welcomed 130 outstanding high school students to observe a live robotic surgery. As chief of the hospital's Robotics and Minimally Invasive Surgery department, Samadi conducted the procedure as part of a ten-day residential program hosted by the National Youth Leadership Forum on Medicine.

A captivated audience of students was delighted by the opportunity to witness an expert in prostate cancer treatment and robotics perform the live procedure. After watching the prostatectomy via closed circuit television, the students were able to engage in a question and answer session with Dr. Samadi.

"Seeing the students' enthusiasm and hearing their insightful question was a great thrill," said Samadi. "I love when people are as excited about robotic surgery as I am."

Approximately 3 out of every 10 students who participate in the forum nationwide are expected to be part of the medical field in some way. Additionally, many feel a debt of gratitude to the program and go on to become NYLF faculty later in their careers.

According to the doctor's website, robotic surgeries offer several significant benefits, including clinically superior results, faster recovery times, minimal scarring and a reduced risk of complications.

The National Semiconductor Foundation recently provided $1.2 million in funding for a STEM education initiative, partnering with organizations around the world. Grant recipients in California, Maine, Scotland and Malaysia will use the NSF investments to improve teacher development programs and develop hands-on classroom experiences.

"Over the past 14 years, we invested $6 million in teacher training and materials in technology, science and math," said NSF CEO Don Macleod. "Our goal is to provide teachers with the knowledge and tools to teach in a way that gets kids excited about science and math so they will be better equipped for tomorrow's work force."

The school district of South Portland, Maine, is expected to receive $225,000 over three years to provide teachers with materials to support innovative STEM coursework that will spur increased student interest in the subject matter. The Asia Foundation will use its award to develop scholarships for low-income students in Malaysia and update its inventory of engineering textbooks.

According to the foundation's website, the grants are another example of the Silicon Valley-based organization's long-standing commitment to fostering community relations. The investments are intended to have a real and significant impact on the quality of STEM education at home and abroad and bring new interest and new innovations to the field.

A retirement home in Japan has decided to employ a high-tech solution for helping elderly victims cope with the aftermath of the nation's devastating natural disaster. Robotics manufacturers from Daiwa House have supplied returning residents of the Suisyoen retirement home with two seal robots intended to provide therapeutic comfort.

"If I hold onto this, it doesn't matter if there's a typhoon outside, I still feel safe," 85 year-old Satsuo Yatsuzaka told Reuters reporters as she clutched the robot.

Pets have often been used to provide comfort and companionship to patients in rehabilitation settings, and residents are responding to the robot's life-like qualities. Although the seal only holds a charge for a few hours at a time, some of its companions can be seen carrying on conversations with the robot or incorporating it into retirement home activities.

As noted by Digital Trends, the earthquake recovery efforts may take years to complete, and it may be even longer before peace of mind is restored. But in the meantime, the life-like robotic seals are playing a small but important role in helping elderly victims come back from crisis.

Mathematics teachers throughout New Hampshire's Lilac City school district will take part in a new program dedicated to strengthening their knowledge.

According to Foster's Daily Democrat, teachers across the state are eligible for the Intel Mathematics Training Program for K-8 education. The initiative receives $500,000 in annual funding courtesy of the New Hampshire Department of Education's Math and Science Partnership grant.

The STEM education award is given to a select group of organizations across the state including higher education institutions, elementary schools and tutoring services, according to the DOE website. Together, the partnership works to design, implement and evaluate professional development programs.

"Professional development is usually focused on the pedagogy of teaching," DOE curriculum administrator, Tim Kurtz, told the newspaper. "This program allows (teachers) to step back and focus on their individual content knowledge."

In recent years, politicians have become increasingly interested in STEM education as a means of remaining economically and technologically competitive in the global marketplace. Organizations such as the National Science Foundation have been asked to assist with the development of high-quality curricula and educators to serve the next generation of students.

Whoever said robots are incapable of human emotions, such as love, obviously didn't hear the whole story. According to the Huffington Post, researchers from Singapore have developed a advanced robotic device prone to falling in love with people when the feeling is mutual.

The objects of the robot's desires need only pay attention to the different colors it flashes when it feels certain emotions. Outfitted with microphones and cameras, which enables it to recognize familiar faces and crushes, the device learns to pick up on the positive vibes of certain humans, reported the news provider.

The device, covered in white and fluffy fur, is the brainchild of head researchers Hooman Samani and developers with the National University of Singapore, stated the news provider. Furthermore, the team said that despite the fact that many in the industry are labeling the device's actions as mimicry and nothing more, the feelings the robot has for its human crushes are way past the point of platonic.

According to the Post report, the feelings between the robotic device and humans are nothing less than "bi-directional love between a human and a robot – realistic, genuine, biologically-inspired love."

Robotics can now offer a shoulder to cry on for therapeutic relief. According to the Los Angeles Times, a device resembling a seal, called Pikatti, is used to comfort patients suffering from Alzheimer's.

What is considered a sweet dream for robots is a living nightmare for humans worried about a possible robot apocalypse. Recently, a new device called, HERB, developed an innate ability to analyze and think about the changing world around it, a reasoning process its creator has likened to the human ability to dream, reported Techland.

"I call it dreaming," HERB's builder, Siddhartha Srinivasa, told the media outlet. "It helps people intuitively understand that the robot is actually visualizing itself doing something."

As of right now, the ability of HERB to process the surrounding environment may seem underwhelming to some, as its functions do not extend much beyond scanning an area, identifying an object and then picking it up. However, according to the news provider, HERB and similar devices set the stage for autonomous thought processes, through which, one day, robotics will display the ability to think on-the-go and adapt to different situations accordingly.

This is not necessarily the tell-tale sign of Judgment Day, as researchers believe this ability only stands to improve the quality of life for people in need, such as the elderly and the disabled, stated the Techland report.

Regardless of their functions, most robotic developers agree that the main purpose of advancing robot technology is not to bring about the scenario shown in the Terminator but rather to improve the lives of the humans they serve.