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Hiroshima Carp is the name of a hick Japanese baseball team that plays in a horrible stadium and never wins much of anything. On the other hand, the 80cm Hiroshima robot carp “unveiled” earlier this week moby dicks itself around ponds with a camera stuffed in its mouth.

The good people at PC Watch have a report out about an event in Osaka this week that brings kids and robots together.

Looks like South Korean inventor Eungsang Park is nipping at the tin heels of the defunct Aibo.

This might turn out to be a bunch of Hong Kong phooey, but has Hitachi ripped off MobileRobot’s Pioneer-DX design? That’s the claim MR is making about big H’s security robot, which has been doing the media rounds in Tokyo this week.

It might not be particularly useful but Citizen’s Eco-Be! robot sure is holding the attention of that cross-eyed “spokesmodel” in the background.

Those Pink Tentacle guys sure love their robots, for which we are grateful. The latest droid to grace their pages is the anime-themed Maetel, which is doing the old metal guide thing at an airport.

Speaking of our friendly robotic pals, RIKEN’s RI-MAN droid has had a makeover and now comes in a soft-skinned version.

Hitachi’s wheeled EMIEW (Excellent Mobility and Interactive Existence as Workmate, uh huh) robot has finally found itself some gainful employment — as a hotel clerk.

Big Brother ‘bots are everywhere these days, including at schools, on the roads and in supermarkets, so it’s no great surprise to find one surveilling schoolkids as they make their way around town.

Another week, another shopping robot. Our friends over at Impress have shots of Tmsuk’s shopping robot in action at a mall in its home town of Fukuoka. The robot has been jointly developed by Tmsuk — also known for such monster-masterpieces such as the Enryu — and NTT Communications.

Looks like Qrio’s scored an away goal in Brazil to compensate for Sony’s own goal of substituting the stumbling bot for something more profitable.

Mitsubishi’s Wakamaru is one of the robots most commonly seen in the press here (that attention-hog Asimo aside, of course), so it was no surprise to see this story about him standing guard outside an elementary school in Tokyo.

The newly semi-speedy Asimo is going to take a break from trying to score with Office Ladies to do something more public spirited. He’s going to be displaying his jerky jog in public in Tokyo at a showroom in Tokyo’s ultra-hip and fashionable Ayoyama district on Sunday Feb. 5.

No this isn’t demonstrable proof of the rise of the machines, it’s Tmsuk’s Enryu robot in action in long-suffering Niigata Prefecture, in tests designed to show if he’s useful enough to help dig people out of houses collapsed by snow, rescue cars from drifts, etc.

Fujitsu’s enon service bot hasn’t yet started insulting customers and has done well enough in its initial role of standing in front of Aeon supermarket in downtown Yachiyo that the chain wants to use more of the robots.

A local staffing service company called People Staff will start using Business Design Laboratory’s Yorisoi (snuggly) ifbot and vomit-inducingly cute Hello Kitty robots to work in old people’s homes and offices starting in February.

The humanoid HRP-2 Promet robot must be a happier camper these days. The National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology has equipped Promet with four “high precision” cameras, enabling the robotic gentleman to better position himself for useful duties such as fetching a nice chilled brewski.

We feared it would come to this — Sony Japan has just used its quarterly earnings report to slip out the news that it is ceasing production of everyone’s favorite robot dog, Aibo.

Who needs real robots when we can train armies of brainless insects to do our bidding? Unblocking arteries, repairing heart valves, delivering pizza — they can do it all. Oh wait…

Honda’s smug ASIMO robot is incredibly annoying — here in Japan it’s hard to get through a single day without being subjected to his capering antics on TV and in magazines. Which makes it all the more disturbing that Honda has bestowed the bungling ‘bot with even greater powers.

Major Japanese (and slightly down-market) supermarket chain Aeon is going to start testing Fujitsu’s enon service robot.

The 2005 International Robot Exhibition, being billed by sponsors as one of the world’s largest ‘bot expos, opens today at the Tokyo International Exhibition Center (Tokyo Big Sight), which, incidentally, is built on a huge mound of garbage in Tokyo Bay.

Those wacky Koreans — they’ve only gone and invented a robot that’s sure to cause barroom brawls across the world when it hustles hapless drinkers out of their hard-earned.

Daikin Industries, a leader in one of Japan’s least glamorous product areas, air conditioners, has been trying for some time to spice up its image. Being Japan, you might think this would mean inventing a cute anime character and then building an advertising campaign around it. At some point the company may even make a robot figure. Or perhaps we are being too cynical, no?

Stop the presses – Sega’s idog is finally available in pink and blue. Not content with the common-as-muck white, Sega has added the two new colors to appease infantile adults and bored kids across Japan.

(Via Sega [Japanese])

The thing we simply have to respect about the women of this fine island nation is they way they’re ready to drop everything for any outlandish photo opportunity, particularly if it involves cellphones, robot pets or dressing up.

(Via Engadget)

The new Aibo announced yesterday afternoon is notable for its enhanced ability to communicate with the outside world through improved comms software.

(Via SonyStyle [Japanese])

Going by the name of gTELESTAR 2h, this hunka tin is the brainchild of the robot guys across the road here at Tokyo University.

(Via we make money not art)