Invasion of THE HUMANOIDS.

ROBOTIC PETS and other robotic gadgets are just the tip of the iceberg. Here are a few companies that are coming close to building truly lifelike humanoid robots:

SONY SDR-3X is a small biped walking robot that uses "actuators" and "whole body coordinated dynamic control" to produce synchronized movements in its 24 joints that enable it to walk and change direction, balance on one leg, kick a ball, and dance.

HONDA Asimo, which stands for "Advanced Step in Innovative Mobility," is the third prototype since Honda began robot research in 1986. The robot can change directions while walking, step in dance-like patterns, and raise its arms via a handheld remote control.

The company is working on adding voice-recognition capability, the ability to identify faces, and other functions to make it a commercial product.

JAPAN SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY CORP. DB has been developed to explore the inner workings of brain functions. It has the same kinematic structure as the human body with 30 active degrees of freedom, albeit without fingers. This robot learned how to perform the Okinawa folk dance "Kacha-shi" from demonstration rather than manual robot programming and, based on neurobiological theories, it can also learn human-like eye movements.