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Will soon be fooling people as well. Facial recognition be damned, when you average joe can't tell the difference, the war is lost.

Don't worry -- Pretty soon they'll evolve to discover Asimov's Zeroth Law.

Umm, they ARE evolving, aren't they?

Actually, there is evidence concerning this very fact. The research is something like 10-15 years old (heck, I did a report on it in middle school ten years ago and it was old news).

Here's some links, Google for more if you want:
http://www.climateark.org/articles/1999/icecore2.h tm
http://www.climateark.org/articles/1999/icecore2.h tm

Here's some good images of analyses of the Vostok core samples from
http://www.androidworld.com/prod60.htm - http://www.androidworld.com/Vostok_Ice_Core.jpg
http://cdiac.esd.ornl.gov/trends/co2/vostok.htm - http://cdiac.esd.ornl.gov/trends/co2/graphics/vost ok.co2.gif

Ultimately, the data is generally interpretted two ways.

1. We're increasing faster than ever before, so it'll be worse than ever before.
2. We're not increasing faster than ever before, thus so-called "global warming" is part of a natural cycle.

Actually, there is evidence concerning this very fact. The research is something like 10-15 years old (heck, I did a report on it in middle school ten years ago and it was old news).

Here's some links, Google for more if you want:
http://www.climateark.org/articles/1999/icecore2.h tm
http://www.climateark.org/articles/1999/icecore2.h tm

Here's some good images of analyses of the Vostok core samples from
http://www.androidworld.com/prod60.htm - http://www.androidworld.com/Vostok_Ice_Core.jpg
http://cdiac.esd.ornl.gov/trends/co2/vostok.htm - http://cdiac.esd.ornl.gov/trends/co2/graphics/vost ok.co2.gif

Ultimately, the data is generally interpretted two ways.

1. We're increasing faster than ever before, so it'll be worse than ever before.
2. We're not increasing faster than ever before, thus so-called "global warming" is part of a natural cycle.

I just spent the last hour removing one of the trojans. For anyone else that gets caught out here's the instructions to remove it. http://www.androidworld.com/prod91.htm

When this occurs the social implications are unknown. Robots do not require entertainment, housing, food or medical care but billions of unemployable will. Unless the US and industrialized countries begin programs to address the needs of a socialistic welfare state now I doubt we will have the ability to adapt to the needs of a massive population of physical laborers whose majority of information comes from the TV that they suddenly cannot afford to watch.

Hmm, sounds like a new Slashdot poll.

First to be completed:

• Fusion power plant
• Rollout of IPv6
• Household robots
• Flying cars
• Replacement teeth grown from stem cells
• Duke Nukem Forever
• An Democratic candidate for President people will actually vote for
• Cowboy Neal

... the domestic robot.

All else failed up to now :( | :)

Only problem now is some cash.

CC.

Valerie, the domestic android is a better deal.

http://www.androidworld.com/prod19.htm

It will be capable of washing dishes etc, and will cost only $59000.

I don't know if this is a trend exhibited by the majority of Japanese android/robotics researchers, but from what I've seen they tend to follow a no-face design ethic that I'm most pleased with. I think it's safe to say that most people would find anthropomorphic robots that don't look 100% identical to people (there's something off with that one) very creepy.

And besides, these Japanese robots look way cooler and have this implied subservience about them, at least to me. It's a lot harder to humanize and attach (scary) emotion to something that's faceless and non-human looking, rather than something that looks like a hairy/scary-ass rendition of a planet of the apes extra.

I don't know if this is a trend exhibited by the majority of Japanese android/robotics researchers, but from what I've seen they tend to follow a no-face design ethic that I'm most pleased with. I think it's safe to say that most people would find anthropomorphic robots that don't look 100% identical to people (there's something off with that one) very creepy.

And besides, these Japanese robots look way cooler and have this implied subservience about them, at least to me. It's a lot harder to humanize and attach (scary) emotion to something that's faceless and non-human looking, rather than something that looks like a hairy/scary-ass rendition of a planet of the apes extra.

Bigger picture:
http://www.androidworld.com/www_toy.jpg

Video:
http://www.iirobotics.com/downloads/robozip.zip

Yes, that welding bit is a bit of a problem. Fortunately, welding gear is affordable, if not exactly cheap, and just because they don't own any it doesn't mean they've never used any.

By the way, this is by no means the first effort of it's type: take a look at this. Unfortunately, many of their links only exist in the web archive.

However, some work as stated: http://bitter.swee.to/gundam.html
This one seems to be one or both of the following: a hoax, and a BattleBot or equivalent. (It's the conspiracy bits in the engrish that make me wonder)
MekaToro

Of course, I had to save the best for last. Take a look at RoboSaurus.

The only changes I'd make are:
1. Rip out the flamethrower. It'll look like fire when you've got the muzzleflash from a 20mm Vulcan going full blast.
2. Add a pair of BOFORS 40mm cannon to each arm. From what I'm told, it would perform just fine against hard targets, and they're very well recoil-dampened.

By the way, I'm the former Anonymous Coward that posted the link to MechaPS.com; I just registered because I've been reading this site more and more lately.

Saw this a while ago on the wear-hard list, but another interesting site mentioned there was www.androidworld.com. Maybe not the best designed site in the world, but some interesting stuff if you like robots ;-)

Practically life-like!

It's Valerie: The Domestic Android
For all your domestic android head needs. Its a kit, although it looks like they're still working out the bugs.

Websurfing: The Next Generation - StumbleUpon

I guess there is always a reason to invest in androids as far as interaction with humans is necessary, but I always saw intelligent robotics being most useful where humans are not needed, i.e. space/deep sea exploration, miscellaneous operations in hostile environments, and as controversial as it may be, warfare.
All these areas require autonomous machines as substitutes to humans, and I'm not surprised if we see some of the most exciting advances in AI coming from the Department of Defence, not Honda.