Especially in line with today's other RotM story about creating a Machine to Machine Intelligence system, I can see it now. Armies of mechanical brickies all programmed to make the sound of sucking air through their teeth and announcing that "that whole wall's gotta come down, hear that? that's rot that is. yeah it's all gonna have to come out"

"the new HRP-3 Promet Mk II from Kawada Industries walked on a slippery floor, shrugged off a drenching under a shower and "used a screwdriver just as a human would.""

... said the spokesman, as the Promet dug the screwdriver into the skin of its injured face in order to excise its useless human eye. It then smoothed its hair, donned a pair of discreet sunglasses, and strode off into the night, pausing only to berate the landlord.

Is this robot more cost-effective than a human being? Can it answer the telephone? If it can wade through inch-deep cooking oil it could serve at McDonalds.

These robots need to be made to pay taxes, otherwise I'm going to have to work till I drop.

that this item should appear on the same day as the news of the self-aware network being developed by NASA...

Defcon Schwarzenegger about to be announced, perhaps?

On that robot's web site the PR people have chosen a beautiful image of gear. But as it is drawn, it can't turn... LOL

Hopefuly their engineers are better than the PR people...

@ Ashley: "Is this robot more cost-effective than a human being?"

Assuming your average construction worker earns about US$60,000, then the cost of the robot is roughly equal to a single year's pay (actual cost of employment is generally about twice the actual wages due to taxes, insurance, benefits, and the costs associated with ensuring adherence to safety regulations and such).

Ergo, it's at least as cheap to buy a dozen of these HeRPes-3 bots than it is to employ a dozen humans. Supervisors, of course, are always expensive (and rarely worth the costs), but will remain a requirement. After all, *someone* has to give the wrong orders!

I've seen some video. It does a nice shuffle, but could never get around a real construction site, with lumber all over the floor. Or walk on a roof, or across beams. The hands are too big and clumsy to install a door or window. Like other "revolutionary" robots, it's nowhere near ready for prime time. It's not even ready for Saturday morning cartoons.

And where are the naughty bits needed to make it a successful sex-bot?