The other day a company released footage of a robot exoskeleton that was designed to give soldiers increased strength and stamina on the battlefield. The problem is that no matter how strong we make our soldiers, they will always be susceptible to fatigue, bodily harm, and things like chemical attacks. That's why defense contractors and private companies are working on remote controlled and autonomous robots to help a variety of people—from soldiers in war to local police forces to the elderly—sometimes with disastrously creepy results (including a serious plunge into the uncanny valley). Here's a sampling of some of the stranger robots out there, and what their potential uses may be.

Name: Petman

Key features: Walks upright like a human; can maintain balance over uneven terrain and when shoved

Applications: Testing protective military gear, such as hazmat suits, under realistic conditions without endangering actual people

Deployment: 2011

Created by: Boston Dynamics

Name: Precision Urban Hopper

Key features: Can jump walls and other obstacles up to 25 feet high thanks to a piston leg; remote controlled; GPS guided

Applications: Military and law enforcement

Deployment: Sometime this year

Created by: DARPA

Name: Big Dog

Key features: Ability to easily and quickly traverse varied terrain, including ice, snows, and hills—basically anywhere a human or animal could go; can carry a heavy load

Applications: Military, as a tactical support robot for soldiers

Deployment: TBD

Created by: Boston Dynamics

Name: S5 Snake Robot Prototype

Key features: Achieves locomotion without wheels or legs; really scary

Applications: Search and rescue, hobby

Deployment: 1999

Created by: Gavin Miller

Name: Robot Swarm

Key features: Can self-assemble in different shapes for different applications; in the future, will be able to self-program its own software

Applications: Various, especially search and rescue and anything where adaptability is useful (and where humans would be in danger)

Deployment: 2013

Name: RiSE

Key features: Can climb vertical surfaces, from walls to trees

Applications: Military, law enforcement

Deployment: TBD

Created by: University of Pennsylvania, Carnegie Mellon, Berkeley, Stanford, and Lewis and Clark University (funded by DARPA)

Name: Telenoid R1

Key features: Designed as a communication tool, to better transmit the "presence" of a person; bald, legless

Applications: Civilian, especially in care for the elderly

Deployment: 2010

Created by: Hiroshi Ishiguro