DLR, the German aerospace agency, is showing a new pair of legs. DLR-Biped, which could use a new name, is a four-foot-eight walking research platform that was developed in less than a year.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hjNRVCLb4f4&feature=player_embedded

It was designed to study ways of walking, especially for domestic service robots, according to Plastic Pals, so it doesn't have much in the way of an upper body. Reportedly it is the first bipedal robot with torque-controlled joints -- it has six in each leg, as well as six-axis torque sensors in its feet.

The upper legs were made from existing robot arms, which explains their sort of armlike appearance. The lower legs were designed from scratch.