At the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab, a researcher called Russ Tedrake is building a toddler who is learning to walk.

Mr Tedrake, whose solid build and light beard bring to mind a park ranger more than a computer scientist, moved to CSAIL from the research field of neuroscience. He is particularly interested in making robots move, and his toddler, a foot-high, two-legged robot, is an early experiment in developing robots that can do a better job than their forerunners of walking on two legs.