• The 'HyQReal' robot dog, developed by Italian researchers, is able to pull a plane
• A surprising new video shows the bot dragging a 3-ton airplane across 33ft
• Researchers hope HyQReal could one day be used in disaster relief situations 

Robot dogs have come along way from the days of being tipped over by humans. 

A surprising new video shows off just how advanced the four-legged droids have become, as a 'HyQReal' robo-dog can be seen dragging an airplane that weighs a whopping 3 tons across the Geneva Airport in Italy.

HyQReal was created by researchers at the Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT) as a device designed to support humans in emergency situations.   

Luckily, as the video shows, the robot dog would almost certainly be capable of lifting a heavy human. 

The robot dog drags the heavy airplane with apparent ease across approximately 33 feet before a researcher with a game controller makes it stop.

It's an amazing feat, considering the HyQReal weighs just over 280lbs and is roughly 4ft long. 

IIT explained that the robot has 'custom-made' feet with special rubber grips attached so that it has strong traction on the ground.

This particular HyQReal is the latest iteration of the robot dog, which researchers have developed since 2007.

A new video shows off how advanced four-legged droids have become, as a 'HyQReal' robo-dog can be seen dragging an airplane that weighs 3 tons across the Geneva Airport in Italy

HyQReal was created by researchers at the Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT) as a device designed to support humans in emergency situations and disaster relief

Ultimately, researchers hope to be able to use these four-legged machines for disaster response, agriculture, inspection and other uses.

'Pulling a plane allowed us to demonstrate the robot's strength, power-autonomy and the optimized design,' Claudio Semini, project leader at IIT's Dynamic Legged Systems Lab, said in a statement. 

'We wanted to achieve something that has never been done before, and we succeeded last week.'

Last month, SoftBank-owned Boston Dynamics showed off its Spotpower robot dogs pulling a truck across a parking lot.

The robots were able to haul the truck at an approximately 1 degree angle uphill. 

Boston Dynamics has said it hopes to have the Spotpower available for purchase by sometime this year.   

WHAT IS BOSTON DYNAMICS' SPOT MINI ROBO-DOG?

Boston Dynamics first showed off SpotMini, the most advanced robot dog ever created, in a video posted in November 2017.

The firm, best known for Atlas, its 5 foot 9 (1.7 metre) humanoid robot, has revealed a new 'lightweight' version of its robot Spot Mini.

The robotic canine was shown trotting around a yard, with the promise that more information from the notoriously secretive firm is 'coming soon'.

'SpotMini is a small four-legged robot that comfortably fits in an office or home' the firm says on its website.

It weighs 25 kg (55 lb), or 30 kg (66 lb) when you include the robotic arm.

SpotMini is all-electric and can go for about 90 minutes on a charge, depending on what it is doing, the firm says, boasting 'SpotMini is the quietest robot we have built.' 

SpotMini was first unveiled in 2016, and a previous version of the mini version of spot with a strange extendable neck has been shown off helping around the house. 

In the firm's previous video, the robot is shown walking out of the firm's HQ and into what appears to be a home.

There, it helps load a dishwasher and carries a can to the trash.

It also at one point encounters a dropped banana skin and falls dramatically - but uses its extendable neck to push itself back up. 

'SpotMini is one of the quietest robots we have ever built, the firm says, due to its electric motors.

'It has a variety of sensors, including depth cameras, a solid state gyro (IMU) and proprioception sensors in the limbs. 

'These sensors help with navigation and mobile manipulation. 

'SpotMini performs some tasks autonomously, but often uses a human for high-level guidance.'