The Dream DX showcased at the Tokyo Toy Forum is a result of strong demand for a robotic dig. Unlike its counterpart the 'Aibo' it is very realistic, it can move its eyes, open its mouth, go back and forth and wag its tails. It has an audio recognition feature so it will cutely wag its tail when you say 'good boy'.

The Dream Dog codenamed Dream DX is much more advanced than its feline counterpart and responds to every action just as a real dog would. It will be available soon in Japan for 29,600 Yen ($ 270)

History of Exoskeleton
General Electric developed the first exoskeleton device in the 1960s. Called the Hardiman, it was a hydraulic and electrical body suit, however, it was too heavy and bulky to be of military use.

DARPA began phase I of the exoskeleton program in 2001. Phase I contractors included Sarcos Research Corporation, University of California, Berkeley, and the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. DARPA selected two contractors to enter the program’s second phase in 2003, Sarcos Research Corporation and the University of California, Berkeley.

"With my other myoelectric hand, I would really have to concentrate...the iLimb hand does things naturally. I can just grab the cup like a regular person."

Touch also offers realistic skin coverings, making the iLimb appear much like a normal hand. They note, however, that this option isn't universally popular.

"Some patients, mainly military personnel, particularly love the robotic nature of the uncovered iLimb Hand and prefer not to wear it with a cosmesis glove," says the company.

This isn't recommended, however, for practical reasons: but Touch has done its best for those wishing to show off their cyborg chic: "Because of the need to provide a grip surface and to protect the hand from dust and water, Touch Bionics has developed the iLimb Skin. This is a thin layer of semi-transparent material."

The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2001, Public Law 106-398, Congress mandated in Section 220 that “It shall be a goal of the Armed Forces to achieve the fielding of unmanned, remotely controlled technology such that… by 2015, one-third of the operational ground combat vehicles are unmanned.” DARPA conducts the Urban Challenge program in support of this Congressional mandate. Every “dull, dirty, or dangerous” task that can be carried out using a machine instead of a human protects our warfighters and allows valuable human resources to be used more effectively.

In the next 18 months, the US is likely to deploy a potentially breakthrough robot-vision system in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The battlefields in Iraq and Afghanistan are likely to provide the first test for a potential breakthrough in robotics: the ability to "see" well enough and quickly enough to move through unknown terrain without human help. The US military plans to use the technology – three-dimensional flash laser radar (LADAR) – to remove bombs and search for casualties in chemically contaminated areas without giving up human control. Eventually, however, self-navigating LADAR could show up on Hollywood movie sets to enable special effects – or in your car to prevent collisions with pedestrians.

At a mall in Osaka, Japan, lost shoppers can get directions from a robot that looks like something out of "The Jetsons." In hospitals across the US, disc-shaped robots deliver bed linens and meals to rooms. In some homes, robots are already doing a range of chores, such as vacuuming rooms and cleaning gutters. At least one company is working on a robot that works on a farm.

"The service sector, which is a gigantic part of the employment landscape in the United States, is inevitably going to be a place where you can replace millions of people with robots that work 24/7 for less money," says futurist Marshall Brain.

We've just returned from a joint press conference with TV Tokyo, SoftBank, and Toshiba where we saw the 815T PB in the flesh, the very first Mecha/Transformer like 3G mobile phone.