We've been waiting for 23 years, and finally our teenage dreams have come true - a human-sized military robot has been revealed in the US.
The PetMan robot, created by a team from Boston Dynamics, power-walks like a human, and can perform jumping jacks, squat thrusts and press-ups whilst retaining its balance; it can even be shoved hard and it won't topple over.
For now, sadly, its duties are restricted to testing soldiers' chemical warfare suits; by more accurately mimicking a human's movements, it is a far truer test of the durability of potential fabrics than standard stress tests. Petman will don suits during exposure to potential chemical agents and move freely whilst also simulating human physiology within the suit via tempature, humidity and sweating.
But imaginations are already running wild about the future potential of these robots as remote firefighters, nuclear clean-up operatives able to go into hazardous zones, or, of course, soldiers of the future, thus negating the need for humans to risk their lives.
And, of course, when law and order breaks down in one of our cities, and everything seems out-of-control, we all know who they're going to turn to...
[via The Daily Mail]
Images: YouTube
