This one seems to be straight out of Steven Spielberg's movie -- "Artificial Intelligence: AI.�. Hanson Robotics engineers, designers and programmers have created 17 inches tall and 6 pounds robot called -- “Zeno�. If you think it is a mere coincidence, you are totally wrong, David Hanson -- the owner of Hanson Robotics -- was inspired by Brian Aldiss "Supertoys Last All Summer Long" -- the same book that inspired Spielberg to make AI. However, unlike David of AI, this robot cannot talk or walk -- but can blink his eyes, and also track people and has a face that shows a range of human expression.

Hanson and his team worked on this Robot for almost five years, and believe that there is a big emerging market for lifelike robotic companions, or social robots. I envision Zeno, Hanson says, “as an interactive learning companion, a synthetic pal who can engage in conversation and convey human emotion through a face made of a skin-like, patented material called frubber.�

According to Hanson, this Robot is going be an intelligent one, which will recognize your face, learn your name and build a one to one relationship with you. It is happy news for all the loners of this world -- you might soon get a robotic companion to share all that is getting clogged inside you.

It isn’t available, at present; however the company plans to make it available within the next three years. The price tag is slated to be around $200 to $300.

There is a human touch to this robotic story, Hanson’s eighteen months old son is also called Zeno, and Robot Zeno gets his features (plastic hair and saucer-shaped eyes) from him -- though the frame has been built to resemble the animated Japanese TV show character Astro Boy.

I would not like it getting too real like humans (quite revolting and spooky), or become a clone of me, but I do not mind an animated character being my best pal, though I still prefer the human touch.

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