Insert Sarah Connor joke here.

Sure, we've got robots programmed to make cars, vacuum our floors, and even make sweet, sweet love, and on some level I'm frightened of all of them. But there's a new beasty that will haunt my dreams tonight: the multijoint pork de-boning robot.

It's an articulated arm with a razor-sharp knife at the end. It's called the HAMDAS-R, and it's made by Japan's Mayekawa Electric. The thing is programmed with one purpose: separating pork flesh from thigh bone, a task that's supposed to be tough for humans.

It just won the top prize in the small business and venture category at the 4th Robot Awards sponsored by Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry.

This HAMDAS-R system has achieved a higher yield of deboned pork than skilled workers do, according to Mayekawa. It's smart enough to change its instructions on-the-fly to account for different meat forms and bone sizes, which means it autonomously learns the best way to cut up formerly living things. That means it could very easily make work of a human, like me, even if it's never been programmed to. See why I'm so scared

And why yes, we do have a video of the monstrosity in action. You can view it below.

(Source: Bot Junkie)

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With more than 15 years experience testing hardware (and being obsessed with it), Crave freelance writer Matt Hickey can tell the good gadgets from the great. He also has a keen eye for future technology trends. Matt has blogged for publications including TechCrunch, CrunchGear, and most recently, Gizmodo. Matt is a member of the CNET Blog Network and is not an employee of CBS Interactive. E-mail Matt.