Check out this video clip of the “Big Dog” robot in action on a variety of surfaces. The four legged robot is fully autonomous and capable of crossing just about any terrain with a payload of almost 350 pounds strapped to it. When it stumbles and recovers it looks eerily like real animal only without a head of any kind. At one point one of the guys who built it gives it a good shove and it manages to remain upright:
It seems the motor functions of robots are getting quite sophisticated and small enough in size to make them practical. Now we just need to get some major advancements in AI and we’ll have our own robot butlers before too long. Of course someone will eventually invent robotic sex dolls at which point the entire nerd population will die out and technological progress will come to a screeching halt.
