YOKOHAMA, Japan - Dancing, kicking, sashaying or asking to be kissed, the robots at the Robodex 2000 exhibition are trying to spread the message that they don't have to carry out useful tasks to make great companions - and bring in big money as well.
The exhibition, shown to reporters Thursday ahead of its opening to the public Friday, brings together the Aibo lion-cub pet robot from Sony Corp., the walking Asimo robot from Honda Motor Co. and more than a dozen other machines from universities and companies around Japan. The event is meant to stir up public interest in entertainment robots.
''We are trying to make robots that are sheer fun,'' said Sony Digital Creatures Laboratory's Tatsuzo Ishida, who heads the team that created a prototype humanoid called SDR-3X, or ''Sony Dream Robot.''
Industrial robots require far more sophisticated technology than ones for play, Ishida said. The 20-inch tall, 10-pound SDR can't clean house, but it can kick a soccer ball and do the ''Para Para,'' a hit dance in Japanese discos.
The move toward entertainment robots is partly a reflection of growing frustration over slow progress in industrial applications for robots despite tremendous research costs.
''Industrial robots require a more difficult technology,'' Ishida said. ''Entertainment robots can fall down. All they have to do is get right back up.''
Industrial robots are increasingly used in manufacturing plants, medical surgery and rescue efforts. But hopes that robots will free humans from mundane toils - even tasks as simple as doing the dishes - have been for the most part no more than a dream.
Washing dishes is actually a delicate task, and it would require a decade of research to develop dexterous arm movements and the robot brains to recognize a variety of items, said Yoshihiro Fujita, an engineer at electronics giant NEC Corp.. His company is showing an experimental robot that doesn't even have hands.
Fujita sees the commercial potential of robots as control devices for home appliances in future homes. People wanting to turn off their stereo or turn down the heat will simply talk to their family robot.
''We believe people aren't going to feel comfortable talking to their TV set or light fixture,'' Fujita said. ''The main value of robots is that people would prefer having them wandering around the house.''
Another offering on display is the Security Service Robot, which detects fires and intruders. The robot, a cylindrical, rolling tower with cameras and sensors for sound, heat, touch, smoke and light, is still being tested.
Robovie, by ATR Media Integration & Communications Research Laboratories, has a friendlier look and camera eyes. It says, ''Can I have a kiss?'' or ''Where are you from?'' - but at a cost of $109,000.
Somewhat more affordable at $1,500 is Sony's Aibo pet robot, which waddles, waves its paws and responds to orders like ''dance'' and ''sit.''
The success of Aibo, which has sold more than 45,000 in a year, is turning robots-as-playthings into a fad in this gadget-loving nation - the world's leader in robot technology along with the United States.
Aibo, which means ''pal,'' has set off a series of cheaper imitations from toymakers, such as Tomy Co.'s $130 Dog.com, which talks when it's stroked, or the $27 ball-chasing Ducky Jr. from Takara Co. The toys are also on display at Robodex.
''Everyone's going to look at the Sony robot. But when they realize they can't afford it, and their kid still wants one, this is what they're going to buy,'' said Yutaka Namekata, a manager at Takara.
Shigeo Hirose, a robot researcher at the Tokyo Institute of Technology, acknowledged he is a bit worried that the growing enthusiasm for entertainment robots may draw public interest away from their less glamorous counterparts.
''Entertainment robots aren't wrong,'' said Hirose, who is showing a snakelike robot that can go into mine-filled areas to help remove them. ''But people get emotional when a robot moves like a dog or a human. It looks better than life - even if the technology isn't.''
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On the Net:
Robodex 2000: http://www.robodex.org
Sony Corp.: http://www.aibo.com
Honda Motor Co.: http://world.honda.com/robot/
ATR Media Integration & Communications Research Laboratories:
http://www.atr.co.jp
NEC Corp.: http://www.incx.nec.co.jp/robot
Takara Co.: http://www.takaratoys.co.jp
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