Who knew that somebody would be devious enough to construct a robotic arm that is smart enough to use the keyboard and mouse to autonomously Digg stories around the clock? Well, that has happened in Japan, resulting in the long arm of the law in Nagasaki to catch the culprit. Check out the video of the robotic arm in action here.

This robot you see here looks as though it was constructed from spare parts of an RC car, it is equipped with a portable megaphone and distance sensors so that it knows the location of pedestrians and how far away they are, using the portable microphone at the right time. It has the ability to send salutations to people in all half dozen official languages of the United Nations. I wonder whether someone will just record a political speech and use it to get their radical ideas across if this ever goes mainstream?

Now our office will definitely need the Asahi Beer Robot if productivity is going to shoot through the roof. He is smart and capable enough to open bottles of lager and pour them, and best of all is the fact that he won't be asking you for any tips afterwards. Mr. Asahi was a labor of love, requiring more than 200 man hours and eight engineers to construct. Would be nice to see him be able to belt out regular pub hits as well to keep the general revelry going.

Here's a take on the Roboremote by a member of Robocommunity.com.

I find the Roboremote and its software to be very straightforward and easy to use, and it gives you access to all of the possible commands that you might have forgotten about, for every IR-controlled WowWee robot. Coupled with the very reasonable price, this is one must-have gadget for the WowWee bot owner.

Well, this is only essential if you've got the dough to spare since WowWee robots aren't exactly the cheapest toys on the planet.

This puppy you see above, Hope, had the misfortune of being born without front legs. Orthotist David Turnbill took this opportunity to fashion a custom support for Hope by using a couple of model airplane wheels, where each artificial limb is able to move up and down independently, enabling Hope to pivot and turn at her own whim and fancy. While Hope is still a long way off from being the robotic sidekick of Megaman, at least she has a greater degree of freedom now.

There are a thousand and one reasons why pipes get clogged up, and I'm pretty sure Mario & Luigi will be able to rattle off all of them with ease. Strange how they make their way through pipes without getting those white gloves of theirs dirty - perhaps they had the help of an intelligent pipe inspection robot? This robot is smart enough to move in pipes of varying diameters (minimum of 20cm), and it is smart enough to know when a turn is coming right up ahead courtesy of a pre-loaded path description that mentions the kinds of tasks it can carry out in various situations. According to the inventors, "when the robot enters a vertical pipe, it lifts its head in the pipe and meets the pipe wall. It can then either move sideways with its abdomen against the pipe and twist itself upwards or it can topple backwards, attach itself to the pipe wall, in the same way as we would put our feet against a shaft wall to hold on, and then roll upwards." Now if that ain't smart, I don't know what it is. Good luck cleaning it up after though.

First we have robots to dispatch us puny humans in a cerebral game of chess, and now they want to score any victory in air-hockey as well. Developed by Nuvation, it is able to win slightly over 90% of its games. Guess the advantage the robot has over a normal human is telling if it were able to score such a high winning percentage, it feels almost as though the game was rigged. Not only that, you have to deal with the psychological factor of being unable to taunt the robot or distract it with your lady friend in her delicious low-cut dress. Bummer.

The hobbyist-built ReadyBot cleaning robot is definitely a plus to have in any home, since it not only scrubs your entire floor spic and span, it is also able to pick up your child's toys after them so that no adult will trip over a wayward toy car and end up at the emergency ward. Of course, it is bad form to expect a robot to pick up after our own stuff, but I suppose there are times when the kid's mind just isn't in the right place that exceptions can be made. If only the ReadyBot was constructed larger so that it can double up as a ride for your toddlers.

Developed by the Hirose Fukushima Lab (Japan), this “snake” is quite interesting to watch when it moves underwater. It needs water resistance to propel itself. It can also move on firm ground, but I suspect that the fins make it a lot more efficient in a liquid. Each section of the ACRM-R5 has its own micro-processor, motor and battery and knows where it is in the overall body, by counting how many siblings separate it from the head, which is unique. That might mean that the snake could be very long, but most importantly, researchers can easily replace a body part. Watch the video in the full post.

Tiger Electronics' newest toy robot is known as A.M.P. (Automated Musical Personality), and this one ain't too tiny to be useless, measuring 2.5 feet in height. Targeting a much more mature audience, kiddies are out of the equation as A.M.P. is best played by 16 to 25-year olds, or at least that's what Tiger Electronics think. The A.M.P. Bot is equipped with a couple of wheels and comes with an optional remote control. It balances pretty much like how a Segway does, courtesy of its proprietary gyroscopic technology. A.M.P. features a tiny backpack which allows users to store an MP3 player that is connected to it through a 3.5mm jack. Tiger Electronics will begin to take in pre-orders from August onwards, and the final product will be released a couple of months after that, falling in between the $400 and $500 price tag.

Temuzatsuku is a female robot police as 'she' dons a female cop's hat, and goes about in a non-threatening manner without carrying a gun. She is apparently very popular with the little ones, and local police authorities have found her to be an effective tool in educating kids against street crime. Heck, Temuzatsuku has already been inducted into the force as she was given an appointment book for one day. Pretty neat, huh? I wonder whether she'll flag folks down for speeding in the future...

Well well, here's yet another wall-climbing robot - the Waalbot. This one features just three legs though, using dry adhesion to stick to walls and ceilings as it climbs. Why the tri-leg design? Well, it utilizes simple rotary actuators for a single degree of freedom motion, but also throws in passive joints and elastic flexures which allows this motion to provide the preload and peeling forces necessary to climb using dry adhesion. The Waalbot is ap roduct of Carnegie Mellon University, and is tiny enough to be controlled by virtually any one, overcoming tiny obstacles and low angle surface curvatures with ease thanks to the legged motion. I wonder when will the military recruit this little bugger.

Shenyang in China has created history by being the first city to hire a robotic receptionist in order to provide investors with help to obtain their business-related documents. This unique robot is smart enough to nod its head, wave its hand and even say "Hi" while communicating with others in the complex Chinese language. Most of the robot consists of sonar equipment, a single microphone, a couple of LED lights, two driving wheels, and a directional wheel. He will be able to work for up to 10 non-stop hours before requiring a 3 hour charge. Best of all is, he won't be involved in office politics and you sure as heck won't catch him sleeping on the job.

Sega Toys will start to sell its E.M.A. robot (Eternal, Maiden, Actualization) in Japan from September 26th onwards. What makes this robot so special from the ones we've seen in the past? Well, it is supposed to have a "glamorous body" along with a high level of interactivity (no, nothing sensual here). E.M.A. can apparently hand out business cards, sing, dance, and strut down the table like a lady. She can also kiss, although I'm not sure I want to do the tongue tango with some piece of metl anytime soon. Other parts include infrared sensors that help it find its way around. E.M.A. will be a Japan-only product, retailing for $175. Will you try to import one?