Center for Robotics and Embedded Systems (CRES) was established in fall 2002. It is an interdisciplinary organized research unit (ORU) in the USC Viterbi School of Engineering that focuses on the science and technology of effective, robust, and scalable robotic systems, with broad and far-reaching applications. CRES facilitates interdisciplinary interactions and collaboration through its robotics faculty and its large team of interdisciplinary affiliates and serves as a linch pin for strategic research areas at USC. CRES projects span the areas of service, humanoid, distributed, reconfigurable, space, and nano robotics and impact a broad spectrum of applications, including assistance, training and rehabilitation, education, environmental monitoring and cleanup, emergency response, homeland security, and entertainment. The Center provides a tight-knit foundation for collaboration and opportunities for education and outreach.