MAY the force be with the US Navy as they develop robotic help for their warships, able to read human gestures, climb ladders, throw grenades and fight fires.

Star Wars' C-3PO may not be just a fictional character for much longer.

The US Navy has developed a robot very similar to the popular robotic character from George Lucas' Star Wars to work on their ships.

ASH or Autonomous Shipboard Humanoid will have the capacity to operate in smoke-filled areas, climb ladders and react to human gestures with the help of infrared cameras and sensors on its 'face'.

ASH would also be able to throw PEAT (propelled extinguishing agent technology) grenades, and be able to use hoses and fire extinguishers.

media_camera A breakdown shows exactly how the robot has been built to fight fires. Picture: Supplied

The battery-powered robot is being developed by scientists at RoMeLa (Robotics & Mechanisms Laboratory) at Virginia Tech University and is a follow on from a previous version called CHARLI or Cognitive Humanoid Autonomous Robot with Learning Intelligence.

media_camera CHARLI is the United States' first full-size autonomous humanoid robot. It's mechanical design has allowed experimentation into the effects of different mechanical configurations, mostly in the legs, on the performance of bipedal walking and balancing. CHARLI is capable of walking in all directions as well as turning, kicking, and performing gestures and simple upper body manipulation tasks. A variety of hands and grippers have been experimented with for various objects or goals. Picture: Virginia Tech

The team is working with the US Naval Research Laboratory in Washington DC on the robot-human interaction side of the project, taking inspiration from the much-loved robot, C-3PO, which starred in the Lucas' cult films 35 years ago.

media_camera Director George Lucas with actor Anthony Daniels who plays the robot C-3PO, in the 2002 film 'Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones' on location in the Tunisian desert.

The Navy hopes the robot will also be able to put our lethal fires which put the lives of the crews onboard.

Professor Dennis Hong, from the university, told the Sunday Express: '‘It is walking now and will start testing on a Navy ship early next year but that does not mean that it is complete.

''It still needs a lot of things done, such as protection against heat and flames, sensors, navigation, fire-fighting behaviours.’'

Originally published as C-3PO to fight fires, throw grenades