The Beijing Institute of Technology (BIT) this week announced an ambitious "experimental program for intelligent weapons systems" that recruited several dozen teenagers with exceptional high-school grades to design killer robots.

As the South China Morning Post reported on Thursday, brains are not enough for this cutting-edge program. Political reliability and a passion for warfare are also essential:

"These kids are all exceptionally bright, but being bright is not enough," said a BIT professor who was involved in the screening process but asked not to be named because of the sensitivity of the subject.

"We are looking for other qualities such as creative thinking, willingness to fight, a persistence when facing challenges," he said. "A passion for developing new weapons is a must … and they must also be patriots."