Photo credit: College of William and Mary Virginia Institute of Marine Science

Hollywood it isn’t.

Two days after the opening of the movie “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen,” scientists and suits gathered in Suffolk at the Sensor Science & Technology Forum for Robotics and Unmanned Systems.

The ‘bots on display – C2/ISR, AMN1, and UxVS – aren’t about to change shape and wouldn’t stand a chance against the likes of the movie’s Optimus Prime or Megatron.

But these Unmanned Autonomous Vehicles, or UAVs, are real and they’re built right here in Hampton Roads.

Considered one of the next big steps in robotics, UAVs take the forms of planes, boats and even “fish,” which look more like torpedoes.

The military already relies on them overseas. The armed forces have so far logged more than 70,000 hours of drone plane missions in Iraq and Afghanistan, said Scott Keenan of the Navy Surface Warfare Center.

Stateside, some bomb squads routinely use robots to help explore and defuse threats.

The forum, sponsored by the Hampton Roads Technology Council and a number of local tech businesses, offered the robots’ creators an opportunity to discuss ways the region can continue to build its lead in the field.

Hampton Roads has developed a robotics research and development cluster because of the region’s military presence and is at the forefront of research into drone sensory machines such as the UAVs.

Eric Hansen of Naval Surface Warfare Center’s Combatant Craft Division displayed a prototype boat equipped with sensors that can patrol coastlines, pursue other boats and maneuver itself around obstacles such as bridges. Hansen said the project is far from complete but he plans to show off the boat throughout the summer.

“Right now it’s still like driving with Mr. Magoo” because the perception technology isn’t perfected, Hansen said, “but it’s looking better all the time.”

Not all of the research focuses on military use. A robotic “fish” built at the College of William and Mary can detect oxygen levels in the water it swims in.

It also could detect a biological attack on a water supply.

How it works depends on who buys the device.

Old Dominion University‘s Guoqing Zhou showed off a lightweight plane that uses commercial GPS systems to fly without a pilot or remote. He said he hopes the device can be used in emergency scenarios such as natural disasters.

Thomas Reese, director of development at the Virginia Modeling and Simulation Center, which hosted the forum, said he expects the area’s conglomeration of small tech companies to thrive as they lead research into robotics and sensors. The technology could be an economic boon for the region, he said.

Raymond Wall of the Army Aviation Applied Technology Directorate likened the current state of the industry to the field of aviation in the 1930s. He said he expects huge advancements in the next 10 years.

Just don’t expect your car to transform anytime soon.

Michael White, The Virginian-Pilot, published June 27, 2009, reprinted with permission