Researchers at the Pentagon showed their new life-size robot to U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel.
Officials said the Atlas robot is not designed to fight, but has instead been developed for humanitarian purposes, such as rescuing victims during a natural disaster, according to SBS.
The robot, which is just over six feet tall, will compete in a contest aimed at creating man-like, life-saving robots. The contest was created by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) as a result of the Fukashima earthquake and tsunami disasters, The Standard Digital News reported..
The robots will be required to travel through terrain and enter buildings.
During the Atlas robot's display, Brad Tousley, head of the Tactical Technology Office at DARPA, explained to Hagel that the capabilities of robots presented in movies are unrealistic. Tousley said that incredible achievements in computer science and engineering are needed to build robots capable of opening doors, climbing ladders and carrying objects.
Hagel also got to see new prosthetic technology, such as a mechanical hand that responds to brain impulses and a prosthetic arm that is controlled by foot movements, SBS reported.
Fred Downs, a wounded veteran who lost his limb in a land mine explosion during the Vietnam war, demonstrated his prosthetic left arm by giving Hagel, who he had worked with in the 1980s, a thumbs up. With the help of two accelerometers strapped to his feet, Downs was able to control the elbow, wrist and fingers.
"It's the first time in 45 years, since Vietnam, I'm able to use my left hand," Downs said.
"This is transformational," Hagel said, pointing out the effect the technology would have on wounded soldiers. "We've never seen anything like this before."
Hagel also met with Justin Sanchez, a medical doctor and program manager at DARPA, who showed Hagel a video of a patient with a sensor implanted in her brain that allows her to control a mechanical arm with her thoughts, Geo News, Pakistan reported.
A black mechanical hand and arm that responds to brain impulses was also displayed, featuring attached sensors that would let fingers send sensations back to the brain. Officials said the feedback system should be operational within a few months.
"People said it would be 50 years before we saw this technology in humans," Sanchez said. "We did it in a few years."
