[CES 2011] There is a handful of massage stations around the CES showfloor, and you gotta hand it to those folks who knead and pummel their way through different backs, shoulders and calves throughout the day to keep people refreshed. Well, the model you see here probably has the hardest job on the showfloor – to remain motionless and lie down all day long, letting the WheeMe robot do its thing, which is giving out a nice robotic massage to tired backs. We do wonder whether it is capable of massaging the front, but there was no demonstration available at the booth so we guess we will have to answer that question for ourselves upon purchase.

Touted to be the first massage robot in the world (forget about massage chairs!), the WheeMe is as small as the palm of your hand, gently massaging and caressing you as it moves across your body slowly, thanks to the use of a special sensor technology that helps it steer itself automatically over your body without running the risk of falling down. Of course, if you happen to get up suddenly, the WheeMe will surely be unable to compensate for such an unexpected movement. We would like to see more than one finger in future iterations of the WheeMe. Hmmm, imagine getting fingered by a robot, that sounds so wrong no matter how you look at it.

The WheeMe can be pre-ordered for $69, and if you decide to bring one home, can you please let us know whether the 4 hour battery life lasts as claimed? This new price point is different from the $49 we quoted last year.

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