Pentagon scientists show off life-size robot

CUTTING EDGE: Hagel (left) being shown the Atlas robot that has recently completed testing at the DARPA Robotics Challenge at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia.

WASHINGTON: US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel got a first-hand look at a life-size robot Tuesday that resembles Hollywood's "Terminator," the latest experiment by the Pentagon's high-tech researchers. 

But unlike the cinematic version, the hulking Atlas robot is designed not as a warrior but as a humanitarian machine that would rescue victims in the rubble of a natural disaster, officials said.