I’m concerned that before long, every critter out there will be replaced by a biomimetic robot surrogate. With BigDog, LittleDog, mechafish, swifferbot, and the robo-ant already on the march, it won’t be long before the pleasant tweet and buzz of nature is replaced by the noise of servos and tiny guns.

The latest fiend to come out of DARPA human-extinction research money is this Nano Air Vehicle, which flies like a hummingbird, at least for the few seconds it’s managing to stay up at this stage of research.

I think we adequately covered the life-size Gundam statue in Odaiba, but apparently that was just the beginning. Kobe has decided that it needs its own monument to an anime robot (what recession?), and they’ve chosen as the object of their adoration Tetsujin-28, AKA Gigantor. Of a similar height to a Gundam mecha but significantly… more stout, the Gigantor statue will stand 59 feet tall, but will weigh 50 tons (the Gundam was a paltry 35).

Check out the video after the Shonen Jump.

Have you ever driven down the highway when there’s construction work going on and wondered who makes all the money from selling the orange barrels used to block off lanes? That’s a lot of barrels. So many barrels, in fact, that a student at NC State in Raleigh, North Carolina helped himself to three of them and constructed this most-excellent Barrel Monster.

The Department of Veterans Affairs is testing a fancy new prosthetic arm developed in conjunction with DARPA, the folks that brought us the Internet, and Deka Research, founded by Dean Kamen, creator of the Segway. Unlike a traditional rigid plastic arm, or God forbid a metal hook, the Luke Arm — a reference to Luke Skywalker’s artificial hand from Empire Strikes Back — allows the wearer to grasp small objects and “perform movements while reaching over their head, a previously impossible maneuver for people with a prosthetic arm.”

Assuming you are European and never have more than a head-sized bag of garbage to throw away, this Dustbot appears to be the perfect trash-related companion. I believe the idea is that an army of these things will lurk in every city and constantly collect garbage, eliminating the need for garbage trucks to come to every home. It navigates via GPS and can be summoned by a text message — sounds like some people I know.

If you’re a stickler for clean floors (note: I am not) but you can’t afford a live-in maid to clean them every day (note: I can not) and you’re not afraid of robots (note: I am, deathly) then perhaps you need a Roomba.

This is pretty old but I thought I’d put it out there in light of recent movements by our future robotic overlords to become autonomous. The Energetically Autonomous Tactical Robot (EATR) by RTI has a built-in foraging system that can harvest biomass as well as fuel like gasoline, propane, coal, and solar energy on the go. It powers itself with a combustion engine and can hunt out and ingest these foodstuffs automatically.

This excellent little critterbot is far smaller than the other robots in use by the military, and is being considered as a way to scout possibly-hostile buildings and areas. I was skeptical of its usability until I saw its little flippers come out and get it up that curb. It looks simple but it was probably very difficult to get the weight and center of gravity right on this little thing. It weighs less than a pound and fits in a big cargo pocket.

Oh god oh god! Household monsters are becoming real! This biomimetic slugbot is meant to pick up dust around the house, but it reminds me more of low-level enemies in NES games than any of its robot helper contemporaries. The Fukitorimushi (”wipe-up bug”) is an autonomous robot like a Roomba, but it moves in a freaky inchworm style. The funny thing is, it would be creepy enough without the microfiber cloth wrapped around it, but with it the thing is absolutely terrifying.

Most deep-underwater devices are round and inoffensive; why does this one need to be so sinister? In fact, it’s reminiscent of a certain other robot which occupies an antagonistic relationship with mankind. Not sure what I’m talking about? Here’s a hint: “woah.”

Something about the world’s smallest humanoid robot dancing in front of its own certificate is both heartwarming and hilarious. Even the rude metal riffs just add a layer cuteness.

The headline makes it sound a little more sinister than it is, but that’s really the gist of it. QB1, a robot created by Swiss group OZWE, is essentially a next-generation music playing machine. While things like Pandora and Genius playlists are changing the way people interact with their music within the confines of the traditional OS, OZWE wanted to change the way we interacted with our entertainment devices in the first place. It’s aware of its surroundings in 3D, recognizes faces and pictures, and can interpret gestures. I was skeptical at first, but on reflection, the QB1 seems like a really interesting and powerful idea.

The QB1’s screen turns to face you, but that’s the limit of its movement. It also shows a sort of shadow version of you and your surroundings, which helps you make gestures on-screen. But although its stated capabilities are interesting, it’s the implied capabilities which seem more important. Think of the convenience of multi-touch gestures applied to all your media, and not limited to a small patch on your laptop. Raise your hand and make your fingers into a shelf, then lower it — the volume decreases. Spin your finger around clockwise to fast forward, counter-clockwise to rewind. Speak the name of a song, or the track number, or hold up an album cover to play it. This from anywhere in the same room as the QB1 — or whatever successor makes good on these ideas.

CB2, Child-robot with Biomimetic Body, is slowly learning how to recognize facial expressions. He’s already taught himself how to walk by observing humans do it. Hopefully no one’s using a machete around this thing, else we’re all in really big trouble.

Don’t you people see what’s happening? They’re taking over! First our pets, then our fashion models (expensive pets essentially), and now… our fish? Well, if you’re planning on replacing the world’s natural organisms with your own silicon creations (as the machines certainly are), then it makes sense to start small. Self-replicating micromachines, solar-powered bugs, and now mechanical fishies are going to be deployed into our waters, possibly to prey on the fleshly fish (and algae).

With this latest advance in biomimetic weaponry, BigDog will truly be striking fear into the hearts of America’s enemies. When they see his burnished horns bobbing at them out of a background of terror and carnage, they’ll drop their weapons and cower. I think they’ve got a little to work on with the speed of the charge, but that’s just a technical quibble.