Here is a collection of photographs shot at the Wired Nextfest that occurred last week in the Javits Center in NYC. The event was a blast, and the concepts and devices exhibited gave the attendees a glimpse at facets of a possible future.

Here’s a centaurbot from NASA. The torso is a humanoid robot that can be operated with a telepresence rig by a human operator anywhere.

The device has fully articulated hands, and with its four-wheeled carriage can travel over almost any terrain. It could replace a human astronaut in a mission to a remote location like Mars, or supplement a human mission on the moon.

If you only use the torso, it could provide an extra set of hands on a space station or spacecraft, freeing up valuable air, water, and food for the rest of the human crew.

These dancebots are a little more whimsical, but interesting from a tehnological viewpoint, as they have to interact with a human partner. I don’t know if I’d be that hard up for dancing that I’d want to do it with a robot, but…

Here’s a powered Monocycle called the Wheelsurf that can go up to 30 miles an hour. Cute.

Not all of the kids were there as spectators. Here’s a crew of students showing off their entry into one of the several robotic events held at the exposition.

You can check out some more images from the event HERE.