There is a long list of working animals and people whose jobs have been eliminated by automation. It appears that a new casualty is on the horizon.
Check out this adorable robot the size of a house cat
In what might be considered a nod to DARPA's super-quick sprinting Cheetah robot, another company has created a feline-based legged automaton. Dubbed the Cheetah-Cub, the new creation is the brain child of EPFL’s Biorobotics Laboratory (Biorob).
The Cheetah-Cub lives up to its name, too. It's the fastest little robot on four legs. Capable of running fast enough to clear seven of its own body lengths in a second, the Cheetah-Cub blew past the competition in a recent benchmark test aimed at robots weighing less than 65 pounds. The robot's gait is a faithful reproduction of the way a common house cat pads around.
From the picture it would appear that there are still a few design details to work out. I am sure that it shouldn't be difficult to cover the whole thing in fake fur and tack on some whiskers and a cute little nose. A microchip that purrs should be a snap.
Just think of all the advantages. A five year lithium battery that it won't turn its nose up at the way that the biological model responds to expensive cat food and.....
NO LITTER BOX!