The US Government has debuted its newest humanoid robot, the futuristic droid is so advanced it makes R2-D2 look like a pencil sharpener.

Walking with the distinct swagger of technological superiority, the Pentagon’s new robot was revealed as the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s (DARPA) entry into the Virtual Robotics Challenge. The Challenge will see the android, named ATLAS, undergo tests simulating a real life emergency situation. ATLAS will be required to shut off valves, throw switches, open doors, operate power equipment and travel over rocky ground.

To interact with the world and achieve the goals of the challenge, ATLAS is equipped with a range of cutting-edge utilities; an on-board real-time control computer, an hydraulic pump and thermal management, two arms, two legs, a torso and a head, 28 hydraulically-actuated joints, a Carnegie Robotics sensor head with LIDAR, stereo sensors and two interchangeable sets of hands.

ATLAS has been described as currently having the abilities of a one-year-old child; but at six-foot-two, 150kg, jet black and emitting an eerie LED glow, it is about the most intimidating baby imaginable.

Its creators say ATLAS is learning fast, program manager Dr Gill Pratt said “a one-year-old child can barely walk, a one-year-old child falls down a lot... as you see these machines and you compare them to science fiction, just keep in mind that this is where we are right now.”

Details of all the entrants in the Virtual Robotics Challenge are available here.