One Giant Step for Humanoids

An anonymous reader writes "There are a few robots that do amazing things. Honda's Asimo can walk backward and climb stairs. Sega's idog can dance to music. A tougher nut to crack has been making robots walk like humans. Today, scientists introduce three humanoid striders at the annual AAAS meeting. Unlike other robots that have to power every move, these three save energy by letting gravity do a lot of the work. Like humans, they pick up their feet and just let 'em drop. Engineers say they'll inform the next generations of humanoids and also improve design of robotic prostheses for people. And hey, why not send them to Mars to look for those microbes?"

Comments

China & Robot Technology

[Anonymous Coward]

We must safeguard robotic technology from China. The Chinese would surely use such technology to build an army of robots that would expand the reach of Chinese military power.

Although academic freedom is vital at universities like MIT and Cornell, we must also consider the implications for national security. Do we want a situation in which our national security is damaged for the sake of allowing a couple of Chinese spies disguised as Chinese students to work on robotic technology at MIT and Cornell?

Any way to see the video without Real Player 10?

[The Wicked Priest]

I've got Real Player 8 on my system. When I follow the video link, RP8 wants to install RP10 (yuck). If I cancel, it won't let me view the vid. And when I try the link in MPlayer, it immediately says "Stream EOF detected".

I,

[Anonymous Coward]

for one, wel... whew.... that was close.