While some robots are off exploring the solar system, other artificial automatons are coming into their own back on Earth.

The Japan-based Honda Motor Co.'s Asimo robot, for example, can walk, talk and recognize faces.

Unlike some of its other Earth counterparts, such as the hefty industrial robots used by auto manufacturers to assemble cars, Asimo is a mobile, child-like robot built as an example of Honda's innovation. In addition to appearing in Honda commercials, the robot has been rented out to Japanese companies, and it rang the bell once at the New York Stock Exchange.

The 4-foot (1.4-meter) Asimo's can be programmed to recognize up to 10 faces with the camera built into its head, and even call out the names of the people those faces belong to. It can understand human gestures and waves back if waved to.

The robot can also walk backward as well as forward to avoid obstacles, and it is equipped with a wireless local area network (LAN) to tap into Honda showroom databases and discuss car information.

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Thats really awesome!!! We are on at the beginning of creating robots but hopefully in my liftime I will see the creation of real intelligent robots!

I wonder if Honda was part of the last Darpa contest..

Sounds like they could have won..

Anyone wanna front me a million bucks so i can make an entry?

combine these with all the other automated unmanned technologies, uavs, robotic land vehicles, and we do have the ingredients for terminator soup.

Lets just make them to be trusted

Ok then, so instead of terminator soup we have I-Robot runaways.