President Barack Obama yesterday promised a major investment in research and development for scientific innovation, saying the United States has fallen behind others.

"I believe it is not in our character, American character, to follow, but to lead. And it is time for us to lead once again. I am here today to set this goal. We will devote more than three per cent of our GDP to research and development," Obama said in a speech at the annual meeting of the National Academy of Sciences.

"We will not just meet, but we will exceed the level achieved at the height of the space race," he said.

Fuelling future success

Obama said the investments he is proposing would lead to breakthroughs, such as solar cells as cheap as paint and green buildings that produce all the energy they consume.

The pursuit of discovery a half century ago fuelled the nation's prosperity and success, Obama told the academy.

"The commitment I am making today will fuel our success for another 50 years," he said. "This work begins with an historic commitment to basic science and applied research."

He set forth a wish list for the future including "learning software as effective as a personal tutor; prosthetics so advanced that you could play the piano again; an expansion of the frontiers of human knowledge about ourselves and the world around us."