Video: U.S. Army "Terminator" robot can jump and climb stairs

A new robot unveiled by the U.S. Army lumbers over obstacles using laser vision - and looks uncannily like Arnold Schwarzenegger's unstoppable Terminator.

A video demonstration for Atlas shows off how the robot is so agile it can climb stairs and jump over obstacles at speed - it uses twin camera systems (one laser detector, one stereo camera) to "see" the world around it.

"Articulated, sensate hands will enable Atlas to use tools designed for human use," say makers Boston Dynamics, who reassure us that the robot is designed for rescue situations, rather than assassinating the parents of future resistance leaders.

"Atlas is a high mobility, humanoid robot designed to negotiate outdoor, rough terrain," says Boston Dynamics. "Atlas can walk bipedally leaving the upper limbs free to lift, carry, and manipulate the environment. In extremely challenging terrain, Atlas is strong and coordinated enough to climb using hands and feet, to pick its way through congested spaces."

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The robot was developed in collaboration with DARPA (Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency - a hi-tech division of the U.S. military.

Boston Dynamics previously developed Petman - another human-shaped robot - which was able to walk at speeds of 4.4 miles per hour.

PetMan is able to do jumping jacks, squat thrusts and press-ups, and was able to handle a hard shove  while running on a treadmill without falling over.

'Places like nuclear reactors could be accessed by PETMAN-like robots, without requiring any human exposure to hazardous materials. Perhaps firefighting inside of buildings or facilities designed for human access, like on board ships designed for human crews,' Robert Playter, an engineer at Boston Dynamics said.