Coolest Inventions: Lots O' Bots

THIS ONE'S NO DOG

The Aibo, Sony's toy robot dog, was a huge commercial hit. But it's a quadruped so, by today's standards, no great shakes. Meet Qrio (rhymes with curio), the company's new bipedal "personal agent." More of a corporate showpiece than an actual product (on the market it would fetch about as much as a BMW), Qrio can walk uphill, sing, dance, wave hello, wiggle its fingers and kick a ball with surprising grace. Two digital cameras, one behind each eye, help Qrio map a room for future reference and recognize up to 10 different faces. It can also...

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