AQUA2 amphibious robot is super cute and fast, less annoying than most pets because it has no head

The AQUA2, built at McGill University in Montreal, is the first of its kind. You see, the AQUA2 is a robot that can both dive and swim in water, and move about on land. The amphibious bot can explore water up to 120 feet and is tethered to a remote control via ethernet or fiber optics. The 'headless' robot's flippers make it a pretty impressive swimmer, and it's also strikingly fast on even rough terrain. Check out the video after the break.

Philosopher ponders the implications of robot warfare, life with a degree in philosophy

H+, our favorite transhumanist magazine, has just published a chat with Peter Asaro, the author of a paper titled "How Just Could a Robot War Be?" In this interview (co-authored by our old friend R.U. Sirius) the gentleman from Rutgers explores the philosophical implications of things like robot civil war, robots and just war theory, and the possibilities of installing some sort of "moral agency" in the killer machines that our military increasingly relies on. But that ain't all -- the big thinkers also discuss the benefits of programming automatons to disobey (certain) orders, drop science on a certain Immanuel Kant, and more. We know you've been dying to explore the categorical imperative as it relates to the robot apocalypse

Robovie-mR2's puppy dog eyes make it the perfect spy

This Robovie isn't a dexterous grabber, a powerful computer or a walking tank like its Vstone counterparts. No, at first blush, the Robovie-mr2 is just your average designer Japanese cutebot, albeit one with an iPod Touch for a heart, but that's exactly why this one foot tall bot makes the perfect spycam. No one would suspect it hides 18 servo motors, a miniature CCD camera, speakers and microphone inside its demure, puppy dog exterior (hear it speak Japanese after the break), much less that you can directly control every movement over WiFi. And even should they catch your Robovie eavesdropping, they'd be hard pressed to execute a being with such powerful charm. Hit up the gallery if you don't believe us -- this robot knows just how to beg for its life.