I think the main thing about Honda Motor's new Robot ASIMO is how well he walks. Two legs, bipedal, just like a human being. Not only can he walk, he can run, brace himself if he falls, get up, kick things, balance on teeter-totters, climb stairs and so on.

ASIMO has actually been around now in one version or another for about four years. But his most recent versions are pretty remarkable. Good enough, anyway, that South Park parodied him in an episode called AWESOM-O.

Bipedal mobility (or something better if you can think of it) is necessary if robots are ever to really become a part of our everyday lives, in our homes and on our streets, accompanying their human siblings in natural and urban environments.

There are some excellent videos demonstrating ASIMO here: http://world.honda.com/ASIMO/ And there's more information here: http://asimo.honda.com/