All I want for Christmas is a petrol-powered dog

What do giant, petrol-powered dogs have to do with copywriting? Nothing. But I'd love to see the film.

Well, when I say nothing, that's not entirely true. The Word Department wrote a newsletter recently for artificial intelligence, maths and science consultants Winterwell Associates. They're exceptionally clever people who make all kinds of improvements to all kinds of businesses. One of the lighter items in the newsletter featured a robotic creature that walks. Sounds simple, but when you consider the sheer amount of calculations a machine would have to make in order to replicate the act of walking and especially compensating for slip-ups, then it's not so straightforward. It's high-tech stuff, with hardware including a laser gyroscope and a stereo vision system. And for the film geeks amongst you, doesn't it look a bit like that thing that comes out of the ice in 'The Empire Strikes Back'?

As a copywriter, it's great to write stuff like this because it's all genuinely interesting information you don't see every day. Take a look for yourself. If you run a business, they may be able to help you make it better (it's not all about robots - and you advertising folks may be interested in what they're doing with ARG Gaming). Even if you don't, it's worth reading purely because it's so fascinating. And remember to look for the big robotic dog video at the end - the part on the ice is very impressive.