So you've always wanted to operate a backhoe ... now's your chance. The Construction Automation and Robotics Lab at North Carolina State University has hooked up an excavation backhoe to the high-speed Internet2 network and is using it for training. The trainee operates the equipment with a joystick, audio, and video, and gets feedback from an “artificial coach.”

Internet2's high bandwidth makes the trainee feel that he's actually operating the vehicle -- the backhoe responds smoothly and instantaneously to commands, and the high-definition stereo images provide depth perception.