common use of Bluetooth. This led to a virtual saturation of cell phone ownership among the public in the developed world, increasing the use of mobile phones as everyday carry items, and a sharp decline in the use and numbers of payphones. Robotics As in previous decades, robotics continued to develop, especially telerobotics in medicine, particularly for surgery. Home automation and home robotics advanced in North America; iRobot's "Roomba" was the most successful domestic robot and sold 1.5 million units. (Others of interest include: Robomower, and Scooba as of May 2006) The first robotic vehicle completed the DARPA Grand Challenge in 2005 and became the first vehicle to be able to navigate itself with no external interference. Humanoid robots and robot kits improved considerably, to the point of retailing as toys. This was typified by RoboSapien and Lego Mindstorms respectively. Space technology GPS (Global Positioning System) became very popular, especially in the tracking of items or people, and the use in cars. Games that utilize the system, such as geocaching, emerged and developed a niche following. The Space Shuttle Columbia disaster occurred in February 2003. SpaceShipOne made the first privately funded human spaceflight on June 21, 2004. Healthcare Corrective eye surgery became popular as costs and potential risk decreased and results further improved. 244 new drugs were approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. General retail RFID (Radio Frequency ID) became widely used in retail giants such as Wal-Mart, as a way to track items and automate stocking and keeping track of items. Self-serve kiosks became very widely available, and were used for all kinds of shopping, airplane boarding passes, hotel check-ins, fast food, banking, and car rental. ATMs became nearly universal in much of the First World and very common even in poorer countries and their rural areas. See also 2000 in science 2001 in science 2002 in science 2003 in science 2004 in science 2005 in science 2006 in science 2007 in science 2008 in science 2009 in science 2010 in science History of science and technology List of science and technology articles by continent List of years in science 2010s in science and technology References Science and technology by decade 21st century in science 2000s-related lists 2000s decade overviews