Some foolhardy roboticists in France, who clearly haven't read enough sci-fi books, have created a robot that can recover from a broken leg. More accurately, if the robot is immobilized by a broken leg, it only takes a few seconds for it to learn how to walk again, using a new gait that minimizes the impact of the broken leg. If robots are to become truly useful, they'll have to be able to autonomously recover from damaged circuits and broken limbs.