IT100_13/2010_Reader

While robots are a long way from matching human emotional complexity, the country is perhaps the closest to a future — once the stuff of science fiction — where humans and intelligent robots routinely live side by side and interact socially.

There are robots serving as receptionists, vacuuming office corridors, spoon-feeding the elderly. They serve tea, greet company guests and chatter away at public technology displays. Now start-ups are marching out robotic home helpers.

"The cost of machinery is going down, while labor costs are rising," said Eimei Onaga, CEO of Innovation Matrix Inc., a company that distributes Japanese robotics technology in the U.S. "Soon, robots could even replace low-cost workers at small firms, greatly boosting productivity." That's just what the Japanese government has been counting on. A 2007 national technology roadmap by the Trade Ministry calls for 1 million industrial robots to be installed throughout the country by 2025. A single robot can replace about 10 employees, the roadmap assumes — meaning Japan's future million-robot army of workers could take the place of 10 million humans. That's about 15% of the current workforce.

A Japanese version of Angelina Jolie in Tomb Raider, albeit a rather awkward and clumsy one? Japan’s latest humanoid robot, HRP-4C has 30 motors in her body that enable her to walk and move her limbs. Looking pretty and petit at 5 ft with dark shoulder-length hair, the walking, talking female robot can spot different facial expressions to express different emotions such as anger, surprise and delight.

Renault has unveiled the final production versions of two new all-electric cars, one of which will be the foundation of the Better Place network in Israel. Prospective customers are now able to visit Renault’s website to reserve the Fluence Z.E. sedan and Kangoo Z.E. van, both of which have a 100 mile range and will be available in 2011. Most importantly, the Fluence Z.E. is the first production-ready car that can take advantage of Better Place’s battery swapping system. Renault says that in addition to a conventional plug-in charge, a Fluence’s depleted battery can be swapped for a fully-charged one in under three minutes.

The BBC reports that a trio of fennec foxes has been successfully bred in captivity–a first. And, holy moly, these are the cutest little things I have ever seen. Share this daily “awww” with your kids today!

Editor and self-proclaimed nerd Brian Ashcraft of the very fine video game blog Kotaku explains why he gave his son a Tezuka-inspired name: “To fulfill his destiny as a nerd. Let’s be honest. I am a nerd. Perhaps, you are a nerd, too. We could even been kindred nerd spirits or bitter nerd enemies nerd-raging at each other. In raising my son, I have three goals: He is polite and considerate, he works hard and he becomes a nerd.”

With today's news that Apple is planning a May 31st shutdown for Lala Media, the streaming music service it acquired last December, speculation has arisen that Apple may be on the verge of launching its own cloud-based version of iTunes. MediaMemo reports, however, that industry sources are indicating that such a move would have to occur a bit further down the road.

During several weeks in February, iDefense tracked an effort to sell log-in data for 1.5 million Facebook accounts on several online criminal marketplaces, including one called Carder.su.

And so, H.P. has bought Palm, a deal that will see a flood of intellectual property and engineers arrive in Palo Alto.