...and going straight for the T1000. Paul Hsieh reports on US Defense Department funding for shape-shifting robotics:

The Phase I milestone is:

1. Demonstrate a ChemBot, approximately the size (but not necessarily the form-factor) of a regulation softball (i.e., 30 cm circumference; 10 cm diameter; 500 cm3 volume), that can:

a) travel a distance of 5 meters at a speed of 0.25 meters/minute;

b) achieve a 10-fold reduction in its largest dimension; and

c) traverse through a 1 cm opening of arbitrary geometry and reconstitute its original size and shape, in 15 seconds.

This is a good starting checklist. But I would add:

d) travel back through time while keeping its clothes on.

I think we can avoid a lot of difficulty if we put that in from the get-go.

On a more serious note, the idea that the government is putting serious funding behind such devices should come as no surprise. So long as our softball-sized robot is following a prescribed set of instructions the whole thing seems okay. But a word to the wise for our intrepid Defense Department robotics researchers -- please don't let this sucker start thinking for itself. Or if you do, you better keep a close eye on your helicopters.