Robot

A three-legged robot with an unconventional and graceful walk has been developed by US researchers. Like humans, it exploits gravity to save energy with each step, but it also flips its entire body upside-down with each stride.

The fearsome alien tripods in HG Well's book The War of The Worlds are described as moving like "a milking stool tilted and bowled violently along the ground".

IF, as sci-fi writers have been warning us for decades, robots are plotting to rise up against humans, this week presents them with a prime opportunity. Androids, bots and cyborgs from all over the world, along with the people who build and love them, are converging on the Los Angeles Convention Center this weekend for Wired magazine's NextFest.

A tiny mechanical entomopter using insect-like wing dynamics has achieved tethered flight following US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency funding of a "robotic fly" project at Harvard University's School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.

Harold Ilano was tired of playing Final Fantasies Seven through Nine on his PS1, so what did he do?

A flying robot which can identify snipers and bombs in built-up areas is being developed by scientists as a future weapon against guerrilla fighters.

The University of Portsmouth is creating the device with the aim of the project being commissioned by the Ministry of Defence (MoD).

For the past couple of years, Georgia Tech music professor Gil Weinberg has been jamming at concerts all over the world with his invention, Haile the drum-playing robot.

Haile uses artificial intelligence to improvise on real drums and respond to human musicians in an ensemble. The robot has done so well he has taken up a new instrument — the xylophone.

"Open the donut box and pass me a glazed, Hal."

"I'm afraid I can't do that, Dave."

Keeping your diet in check and working out is a great way to lose weight, but robotic assistants are always a huge help.

The US Army recently debuted the first armed unmanned ground system (UGS) in Iraq, marking a new milestone for unmanned systems.

On some pictures of Earth taken from outer space, you can actually see the Bingham copper mine. My backyard is a green-and-yellow spot about the size of France right next to it.

Barry Bohnsack strolls into the restaurant, and fellow diners can't help but notice his bright blue shirt.

"I'm a robot-building nerd," it says. "Any questions???"

Many grin, and then hesitate, as if they might actually have a question about robots. Bohnsack, 21, smiles back. He wants people to ask him about robotics, or his shirt, or science or technology.