We shouldn't fear robots – they'll do our bidding Paul Newman

I was always going to end up in robotics – this was probably clear to my horrified parents from the moment their five-year-old appeared in the kitchen having skinned the fur off an electric dog. I promise you this is not as ghoulish as it sounds. It's just that the fur and cute eyes got in the way of what was going on underneath. How did this thing walk? What made it segue from walking to sitting to barking?