Robots to the Rescue

Honda was the first (1986) to develop a bi-pedal robot (ASIMO) that walked, climbed stairs, and looked fairly human (in a spacesuit, perhaps). Now there are other companies, mostly Japanese, working on human-looking service robots. Geared toward helping people with disabilities or working in office environments, these robots get things, manuever objects, access networks, recognize faces, gestures and environments, and can even take part in rudimentary conversations.

The links to 2 main sites are below:

Honda'a ASIMO looking a bit nervous with fists clenched

Honda ASIMO (videos, history, design concept, technology, lots of information)

Kawada's HRP-2 Promet looking very "transformer-ish"

Kawada HRP-2 Promet (videos of the HRP-2 in action)