SEATTLE - Imagine if you could order a robot to get you a soda, or to do chores around the house, just by thinking about it.

It may sound like science fiction, but researchers at the University of Washington are showing it may be reality sooner than you think.

Slowly but surely, a snazzy robot at the UW is strutting into the future. The machine is doing what a researcher has just ordered it to do, without speaking a word or punching a key.

Researchers at the UW Humanoid Robotics Lab say one day you might order your robot around by simply using your mind.

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University of Washington researchers are using brain signals to get their robot to perform basic tasks.

It starts with something like a medical exam. UW graduate CJ Bell puts on a cap that's connected to a set of electrodes that will read and decipher his brain signals so that Bell will soon control the robot - just by thinking about it.

Ultimately, it rests on the fact that the brain is an electrical device and it operates using electrical signals.

To get the robot to pick up the green block sitting in front of it, Bell focuses on the green object seen on his laptop. The computer reads the brain signals and relays it to the robot which is fitted with video cameras for eyes.

"So now the robot is going to try to orient itself towards the green object," UW Professor Rajesh Rao explained. "So once he's selected the object, it's pretty much left to the robot now to go ahead and pick it up."

Next, he orders the robot to drop the green block off at the table to the left, so Bell focuses on the image on the left side of his laptop.

The robot walks backwards, centers itself and seconds later, drops off the green object.

After months of tests, researchers say the robot follows orders at an accuracy rate of 94 percent.

"In a sport it's like scoring a goal. It's finally accomplishing what you've been working on for so long," Bell said.

In essence, it's a combination of two emerging technologies: robotics telling machines how to do basic things and the field of reading and understanding our brain signals. The hope is this marriage can produce something all of us can use.

"I see more and more use of robots in home environments," Rao said. "So, for example for the elderly, I see a pretty big potential market there for helper robots that can help with performing different chores around the house."

Researchers admit they still have a ways to go, as the technology is still pretty primitive, but they're eager about the possibilities.

The UW team plans to expand their research so the robot can do more complex tasks and equip it with skills such as avoiding obstacles in a room.

"It's pretty exciting," Bell said, "something to be proud of and I'm looking forward to what does eventually come about with this research."