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<‾xml:namespace prefix = o ns = 'urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office' />In the future, says NEC, your personal robot will look up the weather forecast, read your email to you, and change TV channels for you.
 
NEC is showing off its PaPeRo (Partner-type Personal Robot) at its stand in Hall 3. Introduced earlier this year as a proof-of-concept to study human-robot interaction, the PaPeRo isn't just a cute toy but a communications device with an Ethernet jack and 3G connectivity. It also comes with speech/facial-recognition software, allowing it to recognize its owner and respond to voice commands.

PaPeRo can look up information from the Net either by command or automatically, and its eyes can serve as cameras for home monitoring via 3G.

PaPeRo is also similar to the Tamagotchi game of several years ago in that it responds to praise, but will become lazy if ignored for too long. It likes dancing, too.