The need for such a machine becomes increasingly obvious as technical advancements (and by-products) propel us into the new Millennium.  Hazardous environments and situations where humans should not be directly involved are ideally suited to high fidelity, human-like robots.  Biological warfare, toxic waste, nuclear waste, bomb squad, surveillance and building security name just a few on-earth applications.  In space, numerous applications may be found in the near future.  Full-time maintenance of the Space station or even first wave colonization of the moon or mars is not beyond comprehension (and I should know, since I build machines that operate in space for NASA).

The "human-like" robot concept embodied as a Personal Assistant  has been around since the beginning of this century.  Only recently have the necessary technical advancements in engineering, fabrication, electronics, computers and software  allowed the development of a flexible, articulated "human-like" machine to be affordably manufactured.  Current work (in progress) on the pre-prototype 3D model may be viewed here. take me to the pics!