'Kytrigger' tells us that Colonel Bobby Zimes recently spoke to American Robotics Magazine about the future of military robotics and answered some shocking questions. Surprisingly, the Colonel mentioned X-Men: The Last Stand, and the Sentinels! How does it relate to our own future? Here's an excerpt from the interview:

AR Magazine: I was intrigued by the use of a humanoid form of the AR-C robot. I have tried building smaller robots at home, and have found using legs to be incredibly arduous. They just don’t seem to keep balance as well as wheels. How did you overcome this obstacle, and how large do you plan on making these robots?

Bobby Zimes: It was difficult at first, and while having legs does help the robots’ performance [see above] it also has its setbacks. We found that the mobility of the robots stays the same until about 3 feet tall, but any larger, and the robot becomes too heavy to accurately control with just 2 legs.

A good example of this is in the upcoming movie X-Men [X-Men 3]. Fox came to us for robotic military designs. At first they wanted larger humanoid robots, but after showing the producers the AR-C prototype, they fell in love. They realized that a 3 foot tall robot was much more realistic and actually more effective than a 20 foot tall robot.

A 20 foot tall robot would be clumsy and would destroy everything around it, whereas a 3 foot tall robot could effectively maneuver through and around obstacles and still be large enough to lift smaller obstacles and debris out of the way. 

Actually, my designers had a great time working with FOX because they were able to combine today’s technology, with some fantasies of theirs. From what I have gathered this movie takes place in present times, but the technology is better (as it seems with all movies) so the designers were able to add things to the AR-C they thought would fit with the movie such as lasers and guns.

They were also able to give the robots much more maneuverability since they will only be computer generated. From what my designers have told me the end product will be a combination of the 3 foot tall AR-C prototype only it will be shooting lasers and doing combat moves and whatnot. It should be interesting.

AR Magazine: Do you know what day it is?

Bobby Zimes: April Fools Day.