When the original version of Robocop came out in 1987, a lot of people complained that the ED-209 security system was ludicrous because it couldn’t cope with stairs
If that thing wasn’t equipped with the sentry voice from “Portal” then I’m afraid I simply have lost faith in humanity’s sense of humour.
hey, no problem!
The Daleks conquered the entire earth, and never worried about stairs.
As an old SF button put it
Only in the recent incarnations, Daleks can apparently levitate, so stairs are no longer an issue. Actually, it goes back further than I’d realized:
Unfortunately, the **K5** was not equipped with any sort of levitation gear, which was literally its downfall.OK, if this thing was a security robot, it had to have onboard cameras recording everything it saw, right? Where’s the footage of this from the robot’s point of view?
And what’s up with that design? To be an effective security robot, it needs to look like a security robot. Give it something at least suggestive of a uniform or some insignia.
Yeah, that’s definitely not the droid I’m looking for.
Apparently it was pushed into the fountain by a drunk guy.
But the question I have, is what exactly does this robot do? Drive around and record stuff on a security camera? How is that better than just adding a bunch of security cameras if you need security cameras?
Deterrence maybe? A robot is a lot more noticeable than security cameras, plus potential troublemakers may be wary about what it’s capable of (provided they don’t witness it tumbling down stairs into a fountain).
Marvin the Robot finally found a way to commit suicide.
Clearly the ADA and its equivalents around the world are the nefarious work of secret Dalek agents, quietly preparing the world for their arrival.
No, that was a similar robot that was pushed over by a drunk person in a parking lot in California back in April.
The robot that fell into the fountain apparently fell into it accidentally.
It’s getting so I can’t tell which malfunctioning killbot is which.
This is why you have to be specific with robots. They should have made sure their killbot knew it was supposed to kill other people, instead of itself.
After all, if it’s going to kill just anybody it’ll start with itself, it’s closest.
Further back than that clip even, see Colin Baker’s 1985 story Revelation of the Daleks which had the first TV evidence of levitation.
That thing looks like Wall-E’s girlfriend’s fat ugly friend.
Looking through Dr. Who stuff on the internet, it appears to be even earlier than that, with Levitating Daleks in the 1960s in the Chase and Power of the Daleks.
Serves me right for not being a Whovian.
Cool info, thanks CalMeacham 
No-one will be surprised to learn that xkcd totally has the OP covered: Robot Apocalypse
Hey, let’s see you cope with stairs that have treads only 1/3 as wide as your feet.