My, Robot?

Lots of what appear to be practical developments in consumer robotics these days. And now, I'm not talking about the Sony Aibo robotic cat and dog, or the Honda Asimo (named for robotic-fiction writer Isaac Asimov, one of whose famous works was the (apparently very loose) basic for the current Will Smith flick "I,Robot".

These are robotic lawnmowers and floor sweepers. Things more in line with what Robert Heinlein's character Dan Davis came up with in "The Door into Summer".

• Electrolux's Automower lawnmower


• Electrolux's Trilobite floor sweeper (cute name)


• Roomba's floor sweeper.
  

And on the not-quite-"practical"-but-a-hell-of-a-lot-of-fun front, check out the movie of this Korean humanoid kit robot. It dances, it does karate, it does calisthenics. Nifty.

Personally, I'm kind of fond of the toy R2-D2 robot from Hasbro I've got that can respond to voice command, etc. (Especially the "easter eggs" it has - if you have one, tell it to "follow me"!)