I, Roommate: The Robot Housekeeper Arrives From: New York Times By: Mark Allen " . . . The fantasy of a home robot capable of performing household chores is as old as science fiction itself, but the reality has been slow to arrive. For all the dazzling robotic feats showcased last month at the World Expo in Aichi, Japan, an event that included robots that drew portraits and hit fastballs, a humanoid device that can walk on two legs, or even maintain balance, is still very much a work in progress. Never mind one capable of doing household chores. A breakthrough of sorts came in April, when ZMP Inc., a company based in Tokyo, released Nuvo, a robot designed to be a helpmate and home companion. (Nuvo sells for about $6,000.) Home robots have been slow to materialize because their weight and size tend to make them impractical and their clusters of sophisticated motors drive the cost out of reach. Nuvo is only 15 inches tall and contains 15 motors, about half the number found in prototypes developed by Honda and Sony. Nuvo has been marketed as a household helpmate and as a mobile baby monitor and security device, because it can relay photographs to cellphones that have access to the Internet. 'In Japan the population is slowly getting older,' said Nobuko Imanishi, a ZMP spokeswoman. 'Home robots can offer wonderful help and companionship for elderly people.' . . . ." " . . . My boyfriend called me the next day and asked if I was sleeping in the same room with Nuvo. When I told him we were sleeping in the same bed, there was an awkward pause. . . ." " . . .The next version of Nuvo, expected out next year, will be capable of reading appointments from a programmable calendar and reciting e-mail messages, traffic reports and news headlines retrieved from the Internet, sort of like a Roomba vacuum crossed with a BlackBerry. Most important, the next version of Nuvo will have more human characteristics, Ms. Imanishi said. ZMP believes it will help connect people and machines. . . . " Read the entire article at: http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/14/garden/14robot.html?th&emc=th Contributed by: David Wysocki Links: Nuvo http://nuvo.jp/nuvo_home_e.html ZMP http://www.zmp.co.jp/e_home.html Japanese robot start-up ZMP Inc. unveils new Robot Nuvo. http://www.i4u.com/article1220.html http://www.i4u.com/article3169.html Nuvo - ZMP's New Walking Robot http://brick-labs.com/news/82/nuvo-zmps-new-walking-robot Japanese Company Unveils Walking Robot http://www.rednova.com/news/stories/3/2004/03/03/story002.html The cool NUVO robot hits the streets http://www.onrobo.com/content/view/85/2/ Robots Safety Dance http://sjc.blog.uvm.edu/archives/2005/04/robots_safety_d_1.html