If my backyard had a cozy bed, no bugs, and a Superdome-style retractable roof for the rare times it rains these days in the San Francisco Bay Area, I would sleep there. I’ve always loved being ...

A robot the size and shape of a square kitchen table wheels over a row of seedlings. It scans the ground with camera "eyes," then stops. A small probe lowers from the middle of the robot, homes in on ...