[djgizmoe]

Yeah, I saw this little monstrosity demonstrated on tv two weeks ago. Seemed pretty cheesy. The interviewer politely asked, "So, how does it handle stairs?", and the Secom people were like, "Er...".
And the smoke cloud couldn't scare away a 5 year old; all it seemed to do was obscure the onboard camera.
Still, a step above Aibo...

[Taro Toporific]

Still, a step above Aibo...

The REGISTER wrote a much funnier take on this...




Japanese boffins build Dalek-style robot guards
(The Register) Aug 10
Mad scientists in Japan have scored a disastrous own-goal in the forthcoming, all-too-inevitable battle between man and cyberappliance for dominance of Earth.
Rather than relying on guards, CCTV cameras or locks, Tokyo-based Secom has developed a robot to deter intruders. Robot X can "chase intruders, take high definition video pictures of them, issue loud warnings and release a dense, billowing cloud of smoke to frighten them off" (our emphasis).
Those alarmed, as we are, by the spectre of cyberloos kidnapping primary school children or manacing small Italian towns can only react with horror to the latest turn of events. The physical description of Robot X will send a chill down any SF fan's spine. The devices are about one metre high and made from reinforced plastic]...more...[/i]