Robohack

A robotic roving reporter is set to gather news from the front line in the next stage of the war on terrorism. The dog-sized robot, which is being built by Chris Csikszentmihalyi at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, will allow its controller to gather video and even carry out on-the-spot interviews from a safe distance. The inventor says restrictions on journalists have made the robot necessary. “If we don’t really know what’s going on in these places, how can we hold our representatives to account?” he asks. The robot is powered by batteries that can be recharged using solar panels.…