JAPAN: Japanese company begins sale of designer home robots

While most robots remain in laboratories, some companies are already lining up to send them into homes. Tmsuk (pronounced "temzack"), a venture company which specialises in all sorts of robots, is due to sell what it calls an 'interior robot' aimed for the masses. Named ROBORIOR, Tmsuk latest invention, is a cross between a robot and a gadget and is to be sold at a reasonable price tag of 294,000 yen (about 2600 U.S. dollars) from Wednesday (28 September) at 5 locations throughout Japan. The robot can can spin, roll around and blink at with a simple command issued from one's mobile phone. The name, an amalgamation of the word Robot and interior, is also mean to be designed to be pleasing to the eye and part of the home interior. However Roborior's main purpose is being a mobile video camera phone that lets you see whatever it sees from wherever you are. "This Robot can see things within a 5 metre radius or 10 metre ahead. As soon as strange noise emanate or stranger sneak into the house, he let you know by calling up your cell phone. So you actually see what is happening in your house however far away you are," said Youichi Takamoto CEO of TMSUK corp. According to Takamoto, the company has already received numerous inquiries from peoples who are eager to buy one. Major customers are dentists or doctor who have a clinic distant from its residence and two-income family who have young child or a pet. He has also got some inquiries from abroad, but since it has adopted NTT DoCOMo's FOMA (Freedom Of Mobile multimedia Access-the name of NTT DoCoMo's WCDMA service) system, they say it is unlikely they will be selling it outside Japan. moment. Its battery are not too powerful. If you keep him moving around via cell phone, battery will burn out less than an hour.

ITN Source | September 30, 2005

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