Robot babysitter, anyone? Or how about a party friend?

You can have your very own personal babysitter, nurse, medical worker and party friend all for the price of S$1,900.

Rein in your thoughts there.

You can have all that, in your very own human-like robot. That's right, a robot.

Japan's SoftBank Corp will start selling human-like robots for personal use by February 2015 in the hope of addressing labour shortages because of its fast ageing society.

Softbank CEO Masayoshi Son says that what is special about this robot - whose name is Pepper and speaks in a high-pitched boyish voice - will be able to develop their own emotional capabilities.

"People describe others as being robots because they have no emotions, no heart. For the first time in human history, we're giving a robot a heart, emotions," Son said.

They will use cloud computing to share data that will aid in the emotional development and will not share an owner's personal information.

Other Japanese technology companies are also onboard the robot wagon.

Panasonic Corp and robotics research subsidiary ActiveLink Co Ltd this week showcased robotic suits and vests to assist in arduous manual tasks such as carrying heavy loads or picking fruit from trees. Personal or household robots, such as the Asimo robot that Honda Motor Co has been developing for more than a decade, are seen as potential elderly care providers.

So maybe this time next year you'll never have to go watch a movie alone, or worry about 'who's going to watch over the stove', or 'who's going to clean up dog poo'. 

Hopefully.

Source: Reuters