Cheetahs are one thing - it's the emergence of humanistic robots that seem to confirm that a slow-burning technological nightmare is heading towards reality.

Anyone familiar with science fiction plotlines can tell you that population-threatening robots are always presented to the media as a marvel of emotionless helpfulness who are able to do the fun things we can do.
And - shock horror - here's an amiable human-like robot, Reem-C robotic, playing football at a recent trade fair in Germany.

The aim of the creators is to equip the same robot with the ability to identify faces, get past obstacles and enter buildings. Head for the bunker now.