A not-far-from-here-and-now take on the recent film Robot & Frank may be Roboy & Mule. The Roboy (left), an advanced humanoid robot, is being developed by engineers at the University of Zurich’s Artificial Intelligence Lab in only nine months (yes, the same as a human baby) for its debut at the Zurich Robots on Tour conference 9 March 2013. Kid-sized with a cute ‘face’ and tendon-driven locomotion, its artificial muscles will eventually be covered by a soft ‘skin.’ Its purpose is to help people in everyday environments. The Mule is an un-cute Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) four-legged pack robot (a/k/a LS3) capable of carrying 400 lbs over 20 miles of rough terrain, taking voice commands, avoiding obstacles and even recharging the devices of the modern soldier and Marine. Its purpose is to relieve them of part of the insanely heavy loads (100 lbs.) they carry. Both robots and their underlying technologies have many imaginable assistive uses for older adults and the disabled in the home and in communities. Roboy in CNET News, PopSci. The Mule in Armed with Science. Videos on both. A New Year’s hat tip to Toni Bunting on Roboy.