Honda Asimo robot runs round in circles at CES 2007

...run, robot, run! The new Asimo runs at up to 6km per hour and has both feet off the ground for 0.08 seconds each time it takes a step. It can also run in circles, by leaning inwards to keep its balance.

Asimo runs not for the sheer joy of speeding fleet-footed across the countryside with the wind in its hair, but because making it go jogging is helping Honda refine its movements so it can react more quickly to changes in its surroundings. You might not want a robot sprinting through your house, but you would want it to be able to react quickly if something -- or someone -- got in its way.