Rise of the Robots

We're not exactly seeing the T2 scenario yet (it's still a long way from a Roomba to a cybernetic Schwarzenegger), but robot development is advancing and they certainly have been in the news lately, including a cover article by Bill Gates in this month's Scientific American ("A Robot In Every Home"). There have already been a number of robot toys, but one of the coolest has to be Pleo, a baby dinosaur that is in development. I read about it in the current Wired magazine and just found the YouTube video that's posted here. While still quite limited (what would I need one for?), its motion is pretty life-like, and I especially like the part where he (she? it!) reaches the edge of the table, looks down, stops, and cries! Could the creepy-but-cuddly Teddy from the Spielberg movie AI be far away? Probably. But the present is starting to look a bit more like the future these days. Bring on the flying cars!