And, despite Superbot's impressive morphing abilities, Shen said DARPA's vision of a liquid-like robot was still a long way beyond existing technology.

CNN: Robotics discovers its soft side

But instead of an ominous sci-fi vision of a planet run by robot overlords, they envision a world that will be shaped, for better or worse, by us.

CNN: Doug Gross,

Vision Robotics, a company based in San Diego, has demonstrated a prototype vine-pruning robot.

ECONOMIST: Agricultural robots