This is just the start. Soon we’ll be giving them the vote. A three-foot-tall robot called the iCub has been nominated to participate in the Olympic Torch Relay for the 2012 London Games, partially to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Alan Turing’s birth, and partially to creep people out with three-foot-tall, fire-wielding robots.

The “child-like humanoid robot” was nominated by Aberystywth University’s Dr. James Law, a computer scientist – who argued that

A robot torch-bearer would be a fitting tribute to Alan Turing, and an inspiration to future generations of scientists and engineers.

Because the only thing more terrifying than a humanoid robot being given the secret of fire is a child-like humanoid robot being given the gift of fire.

Tech-wise, it’s actually pretty feasible, mind – there’s a 50cm Japanese robot doing the Ironman triathlon in Hawaii, after all.

[Source: Aberystwyth University]