The lightweight plastic and carbon fiber robot, which is the newest member of a supposed zoo of animal-inspired devices from CMU's NanoRobotics Lab, owes its gravity-defying skills to research done by Harvard University biologists on the basilisk, or Jesus, lizard.

ENGADGET: The miraculous CMU Water Runner

Aside from providing the world with great gadgets, entertainment devices and robots -- the Japanese have now answered the question that every robot enthusiast since Isaac Asimov has been trying to answer: how do we improve robot-humanoid interaction?

ENGADGET: Japanese prof thinks robots need emotional sensibilities