It's a lot easier to "leave no man behind" when the rescue crew is robotic. Advanced Tactics, an El Segundo-based firm, plans to test a remotely operated, transforming, flying, driving evacuation vehicle early this year. It's not quite a drone, but it's not really a truck or a helicopter either.

It's called the Black Night Transformer. Transformer is an apt name, though the Black Knight won't reconfigure itself into a giant robot warrior. Instead, the transformation is relatively subtle—eight rotors, four on each side, will spring out for takeoff, fold in for driving through tighter streets, and tilt forward in the air for faster flight.