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Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh | Photograph by Bill Cramer Manuela Veloso Professor of Computer Science, Carnegie Mellon Pittsburgh Veloso, 53, a professor of computer science and member of the Robotics Institute at Carnegie Mellon University, is turning robots from joystick-operated poles on wheels into "CoBots" -- intelligent companions that can navigate and move. "CoBots can accompany you to a particular place, give you a tour, do tasks, or stand in for you as telepresence. It seems like science fiction, but it's not

A young hacker has built a mini Arduino-controlled self-balancing robot that looks for all the world like a mini Segway. It's remote-controlled by a WiiMote, it's cheap, and the chap in question is just 17 years old

Scientists have taught flying robots how to juggle.

A new robotic flying drone , styled like a seagull, has arrived on the scene. It doesn't squawk, poop or steal french fries from your hand, but it's an example of incredible bio-mimicking design that could be the future of airborne robots.

The same company behind the popular Roomba robocleaner is producing an underwater robot that can stay below the surface for months.

Photograph by Jason Grow/Wonderful Machine Timothy Gifford and Anjana Bhat Movia Robotics CEO and University of Connecticut Assistant Professor of Kinesiology, Movia Robotics and UCONN Hartford and Storrs, Connecticut Movia Robotics CEO Gifford, 48, and Bhat, 34, an assistant professor of kinesiology at the University of Connecticut, use robots to help autistic children develop social and physical skills.

Photograph by Jason Grow/Wonderful Machine Timothy Gifford and Anjana Bhat Movia Robotics CEO and University of Connecticut Assistant Professor of Kinesiology, Movia Robotics and UCONN Hartford and Storrs, Connecticut Movia Robotics CEO Gifford, 48, and Bhat, 34, an assistant professor of kinesiology at the University of Connecticut, use robots to help autistic children develop social and physical skills.

Cyberdine has just shown the next iteration of its HAL robots--strap-on exoskeletons that boost the user's strength with electric motors.

Today's robots may be astonishing , scary, or militarily useful , but they rarely move with all the occasional grace, jitters, and other subtle quirks that humans have.